Asturias creates the Optician Optometrist category in the Health Service

The Governing Council of the Principality of Asturias has approved Decree 69/2026, of October 5, which creates the professional category of statutory personnel for Optician-Optometrist within the scope of the Health Service of the Principality of Asturias (SESPA). The provision is published in the Official Gazette of the Principality of Asturias (BOPA) no. 199, of October 14, 2026, within section I. General Provisions, at the proposal of the Ministry of Health, with the official reference 2026-08384.

The new role is framed within the group of university-trained healthcare personnel, at the diploma or degree level, and is classified in Group A, subgroup A2, in accordance with article 6.2.a).4.º of Law 55/2003, of December 16, of the Framework Statute for statutory personnel of health services. The preamble justifies the measure based on the aging population, genetic or hereditary problems, and lifestyle habits as the main causes of visual deficiencies, and the need to “increase the quality of visual healthcare and optimize care for users in the ophthalmology area.”

The text also invokes article 84 of the Law of the Principality of Asturias 7/2019, of March 29, on Health, and the Agreement of November 11, 2009, of the Governing Council, which approved the Human Resources Planning Plan of SESPA. The processing included prior public consultation, public information and hearing, negotiation with trade union organizations, and a report from the Health Council of the Principality of Asturias.

Support for the physician and autonomous optometry consultations

The decree assigns to the new category, in general, the complementary and support services for the functions carried out by the medical staff of the ophthalmology services of the SESPA health centers and institutions. Specifically, it lists the following functions:

• Drafting of the clinical history and anamnesis, including family, ocular, and pathological history.
• Assisting the physician in conducting the consultation.
• Performing autonomous optometry and refraction consultations to evaluate visual capacities.
• Handling optical measurement and optometric diagnostic instruments, and interpreting their results.
• Detection of refraction, accommodation, and binocular coordination dysfunctions, and early detection of visual pathologies for referral to the specialist.
• Correction, adaptation, and prescription of corrective lenses and contact lenses.
• Complementary tests, pre-surgical and post-surgical measurements in the ophthalmology area.
• Visual health education for the population and advice on available optical aids.

All these tasks will be carried out under the direction and supervision of the ophthalmology medical staff responsible for the corresponding service.

Access, remuneration, and temporary employment pool

To access the category, as permanent, temporary, or substitute statutory staff, it will be a requirement to hold an accredited qualification with level 2 of the Spanish Qualifications Framework for Higher Education related to Optics and Optometry. Permanent status will require passing the corresponding selection process, and services already provided by those who held the degree at the time of provision will be recognized as services rendered in the new category.

Remuneration will be as established for healthcare personnel of professional classification group A, subgroup A2, with level 21 of the destination supplement. The allocation of positions will be carried out progressively, through the creation of new positions or the conversion of existing ones via the modification of the organic staff.

Deadlines, internal promotion, and entry into force

The second additional provision orders the SESPA to create, immediately upon the entry into force of the decree, the temporary employment pool for the category, in accordance with the Pact on Temporary Contracting. The first additional provision sets a deadline of one month from publication to send the text to the General Directorate of Professional Regulation of the Ministry of Health, according to Royal Decree 184/2015, of March 13.

During the initial implementation, specific temporary internal promotion processes may be convened, negotiated in the corresponding committees. The decree enters into force twenty days after its publication in the BOPA and is signed by the President of the Principality of Asturias, Adrián Barbón Rodríguez, and the Minister of Health, María Concepción Saavedra Rielo, dated October 5, 2026.

The creation of this category incorporates into the Asturian public system a professional profile previously absent from the statutory staff, with the stated objective of relieving ophthalmology services of optometric tasks and shortening visual care waiting times. Its impact will depend on the effective allocation of positions and the implementation of the temporary employment pool.

Source: Official Gazette of the Principality of Asturias (BOPA), no. 199, of October 14, 2026, section I. General Provisions, p. 1 (official reference: 2026-08384).