Your eyes are not deceiving you - the RAF will only take those with good vision initially, however many will deteriorate later in their careers. Ironically the requirement for WSOs in the back seat is not as stringent, despite them being responsible for much 'looking out' from fast jet backseats.
I too have heard about the multi-crew licence, however I believe that it is still in its initial phases of formulation and discussion at the moment - it was mentioned in the RAeS' Aerospace Journal a month or two back. It does sound like a step in the right direction, which could be useful especially if it place the onus on the employers to pay for licences in the first place. Which is of course going to be unlikely.
Good luck in the future.