A third of ophthalmologists believe they should be paid a fee for completing a certificate of vision impairment (CVI), a survey reveals.
The poll conducted by the Royal College of Ophthalmologists said that 32.1 per cent of consultants agreed that the provision of a fee had an influence on CVI discussions with patients. The remainder said it did not.
Nicholas Wilson-Holt, Royal College of Ophthalmologists' Council Member for the South West said that doctors were under a lot of pressure and had increased workloads. However, he felt the fee could be used to benefit eye clinics,
Many doctors donate the fee to charity or use the money to help their eye clinic. Wilson-Holt said the fee could be used for the "provision of eye clinic liaison officers (ECLOs)."
Support for ECLOS
Just under 300 doctors took part in the CVI survey, which also revealed overwhelming support for the use of ECLOs, with 96 per cent of respondents agreeing that both ECLOs and doctors were beneficial to patients, when discussing the process.
More than 90 per cent of respondents were aware of the benefits of registration. However, just over half of ophthalmologists were unaware that the CVI needed to be sent to social service departments within five days.
The college is already raising awareness of the importance of CVIs to patients, working with UK Vision Strategy on a communications plan for the public health indicator, supporting the e-CVI pilot and working on a CVI regional teaching session road show with RNIB.
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