Local eye guy no optician
College of Opticians of B.C. issues warning
If you had your eyes examined by William Lougheed at Imperial Optical, you might want to get them checked again.
The College of Opticians of British Columbia is issuing that advice after its investigation revealed Lougheed is not a registered optician.
“A college investigation provided evidence that William Lougheed misled patients to believe that he was an optician,” the college said in a news release on Thursday. “William Lougheed is not registered with the college.”
It’s not the first time he’s been caught, the college said. Lougheed was found to have breached a 2015 order issued by the college’s disciplinary committee.
In 2014, the college issued a similar public warning about the unauthorized practice of “Michael Lougheed” at Imperial Optical and ordered him to stop providing services he wasn’t authorized to carry out.
“While Michael Lougheed is certified by the college to conduct automated refractions to assess visual acuity, he is not an optometrist or ophthalmologist and does not have the authority to examine eye health,” the college said in 2014.
This year, the B.C. Supreme Court ruled Lougheed was prohibited from operating Imperial Optical, working in any optical store and leading patients to believe he was a qualified optician able to assess vision or offer services such as contact lens fittings, Thursday’s news release said.
A sign on Imperial Optical’s Westside location on Thursday read: “Retiring . . . and closing the business!”