NEW ZEALAND’S EYE health organisations, the Optometrists and Dispensing Opticians Board (ODOB), the New Zealand Association of Optometrists (NZAO), Ophthalmology New Zealand (ONZ) and the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists (RANZCO) have been working tirelessly to advise and seek clarity from the Ministry of Health (MoH) during this Covid-19 pandemic.
Despite having jobs and businesses of their own, and coping with working in lockdown with their own families, the people behind and leading these organisations, including ODOB chair Jayesh Chouhan, NZAO president Rochelle van Eysden and RANZCO NZ’s Dr Peter Hadden, ensured the MoH understood the unique position New Zealand’s eye health practitioners play. The NZAO and ODOB particularly, have made sure the MoH knows how essential glasses and contact lenses are for people to live, whether they are essential workers or not. Then, once they had new advice, they communicated this directly to members and through NZ Optics, so all knew what they could and can do during the lockdown levels to still serve their patients while not putting themselves or their patients at risk.
Information has changed daily, sometimes hourly, during this unprecedented time and continues to do so at the time of going to press. It has been and continues to be worrying for employees and business owners alike, and the patients they look after.
NZ Optics would like to acknowledge the people behind the scenes, from those who represent you to those who look after our most vulnerable (see p17), who have and are working tirelessly to help you, their colleagues, and your patients get through this as best as they can.
Thank you!
