The Association of British Dispensing Opticians (ABDO) is the main professional association for opticians in the UK.

History

ABDO was formed in 1986 from the merger of the Association of Dispensing Opticians and the Faculty of Dispensing Opticians, following the Health and Social Security Act of 1984. The profession of dispensing opticians has been regulated voluntarily since 1926 and, as a statutory profession, by the Opticians Act since 1958. Since such time the conduct of dispensing opticians has thus been regulated partly by legal provisions, by advice given by the General Optical Council, and by ABDO’s own Advice to Fellows. The

General Optical Council The General Optical Council (GOC) is an organisation in the United Kingdom which maintains a register of opticians and regulates the services provided by dispensing opticians and optometrists. The stated function of the GOC is "''to protect the pu ...

was formed by the Opticians Act 1958, to make the British optician profession statutorily protected.

Structure

ABDO currently has 9,000 members and represents over 6.000 qualified dispensing opticians in the UK. It also has 500 members overseas, 500 associate members and approximately 1,800 student members worldwide. The Association is governed by a board of directors, which consists of nine full members of the Association elected by members’ ballot. The board has a non-voting academic adviser. The board is served by the secretariat of the Association, headed by the general secretary Alistair Bridge. The president and vice president are elected by the board from amongst its number. The term of office, for both the president and vice president, is normally two years. ABDO is divided into the following regions within the UK: •ABDO London •ABDO Midlands •ABDO North of England •ABDO South •ABDO Northern Ireland •ABDO Scotland •ABDO Wales Within each region, a Regional Lead is supported by Sub Regional Leads who between them look after the interests of ABDO members at a local level. The Association's registered office is at 199, Gloucester Terrace, London W2 6LD. It is situated off '' Bishops Bridge Road'' (A4206), between Royal Oak tube station, to the west, and

London Paddington station Paddington, also known as London Paddington, is a London station group, London railway station and London Underground station complex, located on Praed Street in the Paddington area. The site has been the London terminus of services provided by ...

, to the east. It is opposite the

Hallfield Estate The Hallfield Estate, owned by Westminster City Council, is one of several modernist housing projects in Bayswater, London designed in the immediate postwar period by the Tecton architecture practice, led by Berthold Lubetkin. Following the di ...

. ABDO College was established at Godmersham Park,

Godmersham Godmersham is a village and civil parish in the Ashford District of Kent, England. The village straddles the Great Stour river where it cuts through the North Downs and its land is approximately one third woodland, all in the far east and west ...

, Kent, in 2001, on the A28. Also based at the ABDO's headquarters are the Federation of Manufacturing Opticians and Federation of Ophthalmic & Dispensing Opticians. It has a publishing division at

Crowborough Crowborough is a town and civil parish in East Sussex, England, in the Weald at the edge of Ashdown Forest and the highest town in the High Weald AONB, High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is located south-west of Royal Tunbridge ...

East Sussex East Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Kent to the north-east, West Sussex to the west, Surrey to the north-west, and the English Channel to the south. The largest settlement ...

Optician training in the UK

Training to become an optician is available at British universities. * ABDO College *

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University of Central Lancashire

Function

ABDO represents the interests at a national level of British dispensing opticians. It is one of the five representative bodies that make up the

Optical Confederation The Optical Confederation is a British trade association launched in April 2010. It is said to help the optometric profession to "punch well above its weight". Lobbying is one of its key activities. It agrees on advice to opticians with the Depa ...

Arms

References

External links

ABDO

ABDO College
*https://www.optical.org/en/Education/What_to_study_and_where/ {{authority control Eye care in the United Kingdom Medical associations based in the United Kingdom British opticians Organisations based in the City of Westminster Organizations established in 1986 1986 establishments in the United Kingdom