Taking the stand

28 February 2019
Winter 2019

Four optometrists who have appeared as expert witnesses spoke to Martha Henriques about what it means to assume this responsibility.

The expert evidence of optometrists in the courtroom received increasing attention and public interest with the case against Honey Rose, whose conviction for gross negligence manslaughter was quashed in 2017. With the publication last June of the Williams review – a comprehensive survey of gross negligence manslaughter in healthcare – the issue has been preoccupying many professionals in this area. 

But what work is involved in being an expert witness? How do you balance this alongside clinical or academic work? And are some optometrists more likely to make a good expert witness than others?  

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Related further reading

By Professor Irene Ctori FCOptom, Vice-President of The College of Optometrists

The College of Optometrists welcomes Healthwatch England’s recommendations to commission more optometry services within primary care to reduce hospital waiting times and improve patient outcomes.

This paper gives a review of the people who access domiciliary eye care in the UK based on a large cohort of electronic records.