Review

Personal views

Comprehensive ophthalmology at the Last Chance Saloon

BMJ 2005; 331 doi: 10.1136/bmj.331.7530.1483 (Published 15 December 2005)
Cite this as: BMJ 2005;331:1483.1

Access to the full text of this article requires a subscription or payment. Please log in or subscribe below.

  1. Michael Clarke, reader in ophthalmology (m.p.clarke@ncl.ac.uk)
  1. Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle upon Tyne

    Let me let you into a secret. No one is in charge. No one knows what's going on.

    I don't know how it is in your specialty, but in mine there is one man at the Department of Health who is supposed to know what's going on. He is a one man band in charge of “optical services.” That's 7000 optometrists and 1000 consultant ophthalmologists. My 100 colleagues in paediatric ophthalmology rate a few civil service digits.

    The government of the day thinks in soundbites and spin. The soundbite for ophthalmology is waiting lists, cataracts, and private practice. That's not to say that cataracts are not important. The reason cataract surgery is the most commonly performed surgical procedure in …

    Access to the full text of this article requires a subscription or payment

    Subscribe

    Article access

    Article access for 1 day

    Purchase this article for £20 $30 €32*

    The PDF version can be downloaded as your personal record

    * Prices do not include VAT

    Rapid responses

    THIS WEEK'S POLL

    BMJ most popular