Indian-origin eye specialist jailed for negligence in UK

An India-born woman optometrist in the UK was on Friday handed down a two-year suspended jail term for failing to spot a life-threatening eye infection in an eight-year-old boy, who later died.

Honey Rose, 35, a mother-of-three, had performed a routine eye test on Vincent Barker in February 2012, but failed to spot a life-threatening condition, resulting in his death five months later. 

She had denied charges of gross negligence amounting to manslaughter but was found guilty after a trial at Ipswich Crown Court here. The prosecution claimed that her conduct had so far been below the expected standard and it was “criminal”.

Sentencing Rose, Judge Jeremy Stuart-Smith said it was the first case of its type and ordered her to complete 200 hours of unpaid work and gave her a 24-month supervision order.