THE SOCIETY’S POSITION ON DELEGATION:

The Society agrees that Delegation is a practice that occurs in many dispensaries where basic administrative and customer service related tasks are given to unlicenced staff. There needs to be a clear document outlining what can and can not be delegated to safeguard both the public and the dispenser. This is the extent that we agree with the principle of delegation.

Of the 10 items described by the College as core functions of Dispensing, we feel that more than just 3 functions are non-delegateable items. Functions such as the provision of advice on the selection of lenses and coatings and preparation of the final design of the eyewear must remain with the dispenser.

• Of concern is the fact that nowhere is it stated that the dispenser must be physically on premises. This is a loophole that that certain unscroupulous chains have exploited for months where one optician is 'delegating' to multiple stores simultaneously.
• A fixed ratio must be set as to the number of persons an Optician can delegate to at one given time. This will safeguard a situation where a single Optician is forced to supervise multiple ‘frame consultants’.
• The act of dispensing Contact Lenses must be treated with a high standard of care. There is a higher chance of complications to the patient and for this reason more of the functions of dispensing contact lenses must remain with the dispenser.

Through the continued delegation of controlled acts to lay persons not registered as an Optician, intern optician or student optician, it can be argued that dispensing is harmless even in the hands of an untrained, unregistered individual. (Why then should dispensing of eyeglasses and contact lenses remain regulated?)

Read our article in the March 2007 Society Newsletter to get an update on the status of the Proposed Delegation Policy.