ABDO has welcomed the action taken by the General Optical Council (GOC) to stop the sale of multifocal reading glasses in Lidl stores across the UK.
The supermarket chain pulled the sale of the glasses following concerns raised by registrants and action by the GOC.
Multifocal lenses are used in spectacles to accommodate multiple prescriptions into a single lens. Legally, multifocal spectacles can only be sold in accordance with a valid prescription.
Kiran Gill, GOC head of legal, said: “We are pleased that Lidl UK has stopped selling multifocal spectacles. After we contacted them, they promptly issued notices to all of their stores, and they have now removed these spectacles from sale.
“Tackling illegal optical practice is an important part of our work to protect the public, and we work collaboratively where we can with other organisations. Our collaboration with Lidl has highlighted the importance of reaching out to larger organisations to clarify our role and remit.
“We encourage anyone with concerns about the illegal selling of contact lenses or spectacles to contact us so that we can investigate and take appropriate action.”
Debbie McGill, ABDO head of policy and public affairs, commented: “We were pleased to see the GOC take urgent action here and the outcome achieved. I will be meeting with the GOC’s head of policy, Marie Bunby, in the next couple of weeks to look at opportunities to work together to do more to address the long-standing problems, like this with ready readers, as well as the inappropriate supply of spectacles and contact lenses online.”