Eye specialists 'to prescribe drugs on the high street'

"Eye specialists will be able to issue prescriptions on the high street, the Government announced today.

Optometrists, who undergo more extensive training than dispensing opticians, are being given greater prescribing powers for conditions like dry eye syndrome, conjunctivitis and blepharitis, which causes inflammation.

The move comes after fears were expressed last week that nurses, who were given the go-ahead to train as independent prescribers last year, lack the knowledge to spot some conditions.

Professor Hugh McGavock, visiting professor of prescribing science at the University of Ulster and a former member of the Committee on Safety of Medicines, said he believed nurses' knowledge of diagnosis was 'pathetically poor'.

The latest Government move will see optometrists able to issue prescriptions in high street opticians so that patients do not need to visit their GP.

Optometrists test people's sight and look for specific eye diseases or related illnesses such as diabetes, which can affect sight.

Meanwhile, dispensing opticians are the people who adjust and fit optical products such as glasses."