Giving patients confidence

The new president of the British Contact Lens Association (BCLA), Jonathon Bench, aims to grow the stature of the association.

Speaking to OT ahead of his presidential address on 25 September, Mr Bench said: “There is so much we have to offer that we haven’t made obvious to people.”

Mr Bench also discussed how to best manage a contact lens patient and innovations in the contact lens market.

“The one thing that practitioners can do to better understand a patient is to ask questions and listen to what is said. Often, it is not the first question that you ask that elicits the truth, it is the one curious question that follows that gives the patient confidence that you have a genuine interest and then they really start to share,” he told OT.

Highlighting what’s next for contact lens patients, Mr Bench noted the opportunity that practitioners have to do more clinical care as NHS services “become more congested.”

“I think it will be the marriage between the healthcare elements and technological advances that is going to make the world of contact lenses a different place to operate,” he added.