John McLennan
The Optometrists and Dispensing Opticians’ Board Chairman John McLennan said as of March 16, less than five per cent of all APC holders (approximately 30 optometrists) were still to meet the recertification programme requirements. Of these, almost half are of retirement age, however not all have informed the Board whether their intention is to retire or not.
“We are getting daily changes as more practitioners achieve the requirement. The Board has already communicated with these practitioners about what is likely to happen if they do not meet requirements by the time their current APC expires. Decisions will be made by the Board on a case by case basis,” he said.
Optometrists first started administering certain diagnostic drugs in 1996 when statutory permission was given in an amendment to the Optometrists and Dispensing Opticians Act. Since 1991, graduates from the Department of Optometry & Vision Science (DOVS) at the University of Auckland have been educated to use DPAs.
With the introduction of the HPCA Act in 2004, it was a function of the Board to assure the Minister of Health that all optometrists were competent. At the time the Act was introduced 242 optometrists had graduated DPA qualified from the DOVS and a further 133 optometrists had completed the Certificate in Ocular Pharmacology, a total of 70% of the current APC holders at the time. At that stage optometrists who did not have the qualification were given five years to become certified.
In the last five years, after seeking advice from the General Optical Council in the UK, the Board granted an exemption to the written component of the DOVS Endorsement in the DPA programme, mainly to registered MBCO and MCOptom holders from 1980 and thereafter. This also applied to several British and South African optometrists that are practising in New Zealand. There was also a practical component which some were required to complete, if exemption criteria were not met.
Mr McLennan said the Board has bent over backwards in the last five years to get all practitioners up to the required level.
“The Board has financially underwritten two courses run by the DOVS which were under-subscribed. We have encouraged people to do the course, and the fact that some have chosen not to do it, is quite disappointing. The Board has constantly reminded people of the deadline and we are confident that most will make it,” he said.
Despite the fact that at least 10-15 practitioners will not have their APC renewed, Mr McLennan said he does not believe this will create a short-term shortage of optometrists.
“Our role is to assure the Minister, and the public, that all optometrists are competent.”
Asked if it is likely that the TPA (Optometrist with Therapeutic Pharmaceutical Agents Endorsement) qualification will become mandatory for practising or remain as an optional extra for those who choose to do therapeutics, Mr McLennan said it has not been discussed by the Board.
“Our focus has been on ensuring that all the optometrists who needed to become DPA qualified, did so. However, at the new registration level, as far as graduates go, every graduate from Auckland and Melbourne universities is now TPA qualified. Within the next couple of years all the graduates from the other Australian optometry courses will also be TPA qualified. Definitely at that point all new graduates will have this qualification so it will need to be reviewed to see what the profession wants,” he said.
