The UK’s General Optical Council’s (GOC’s) 2022 public perception survey found a record 34% of respondents hypothetically waking with an eye problem would visit an optometrist first vs 35% who would see their GP. This compares with just 19% of respondents saying they would see an optometrist first, while 54% said GP and 5% the emergency department in 2015, in the GOS’s inaugural perception survey.

In contrast, 19% of those questioned in this year’s survey, said they saw their optometrist primarily as a retailer rather than a healthcare provider, which compared poorly with 2021’s 12%. In response to pandemic-related questions, 42% said they would undertake their eye examination remotely, with more than half (52%) saying they were happy to choose a service in which a computer diagnosed an eye condition without an optometrist being involved.

The GOC will use the survey data to inform its work on legislative reform and its standards review as part of its five-year strategic plan, Fit for the Future, said Steve Brooker, GOC director of regulatory strategy.

The full report is available from www.optical.org.