2,300 police officers wear spectacles

HUNDREDS of police officers who may be suffering some degree of obscured vision and need corrective lenses, may have to wait until the Ministry of National Security settles a $86,000 debt with Ferriera’s Optical.

Yesterday, the Police Service expressed concern about police officers being hampered in their vision. Contacted by Sunday Newsday, Ferriera’s management insisted that its hold of the “police account’ would remain until further notice.With outstanding payments since 2000, the optical firm’s financial comptroller Ibironke Cunningham, told Sunday Newsday that the only concession it can offer to the police service, was to honour only those prescriptions by police officers for eye glasses made prior to its issuance of instructions via a memo to all of its five branches. The memo instructs the optical staff not to accept “vouchers” from police officers for testing of eyes or prescription of eye glasses.

An official of the Ministry told Sunday Newsday that a significant part of the $86,000 was paid off and negotiations were underway with Ferreria’s to settle the outstanding balance. Cunnigham confirmed this, but said that the firm was very much concerned about the undue delay by the Financial Department in the Ministry of National Security, in settling payments dating back to 2000. With a service of just below 7,000 police officers, Sunday Newsday learned that approximately 2,300 police officers wear eye glasses, are in need of corrective lenses or need to have eye check-ups on a yearly basis.

Government pays part of the medical bill for police officers, including optical expenses. When the firm closed its account with the ministry at the end of last month, police officers attending the firm’s five branches, including one in Tobago, were turned away. In 2000 the ministry owed the firm $37,000. The debt rose to $68,000 in 2002. Sunday Newsday learned that in September, the ministry cleared off $43,000. Ferreira’s marketing manager, Sean Francis, told Sunday Newsday yesterday that negotiations were continuing with a view to settling the debt and he anticipates a resolution by the end of this week. However, Francis said that the firm had no choice but to reluctantly continue to turn away police officers seeking eye examinations.