OPTICIANS will have to be registered from December 1 to prevent the unqualified from testing eyes and prescribing spectacles, it was announced yesterday after more than 10 years of wrangling.
The Assistant Secretary for Health and Welfare, Tony Lam Chik-ting, said: 'The regulation will provide better protection for the public by ensuring adequate standards in optometry and providing a channel through which people can complain about unprofessional conduct.' The Hong Kong Optometric Association welcomed the move but said registration of the profession was long overdue.
A spokesman pointed out that the Government had been discussing registration for more than 10 years and that it would have been in everyone's best interests if the move had come much sooner.
The Consumer Council recommended that there should be safeguards to protect the public about 14 years ago, but action had been slow. People had been prescribed the wrong glasses or lenses.
Registration will fall into four categories, with parts one to three for full registration and part four for provisional registration.
Only those holding a Bachelor of Science degree in optometry or a Professional Diploma in Optometry from the Hong Kong Polytechnic will be registered under part one and allowed to practise unhindered.