Clockwise: James Wolffsohn, Marsha de Cordova and Louise Furby
January
The year began in positive and supportive fashion with the creation of the MenoTalk group to provide education and support to Specsavers staff going through the menopause. The group’s co-chair and co-founder, Louise Furby, said many women going through the menopause felt one of the most debilitating parts was struggling to perform to their usual levels at work because of the symptoms. For Furby, these included brain fog, memory loss, hot flushes, migraines and heart palpitations. After spending time researching the symptoms of the menopause, Furby realised they were tell-tale side effects. The group was not just for women, as many men used the group for greater insight into partners’ and wives’ symptoms.
In case you missed it (ICYMI): A warning was issued after a child was blinded while participating in a social media craze of blowing up deodorant cans.
February
Low sun combined with wet roads is one of the most challenging visual aspects of driving in winter, so when Glasses Direct highlighted Department of Transport data in February that showed glare was a factor in 34,399 road user causalities in the past decade, it was a sobering statistic for everyone. Glasses Direct compounded that, however, with a survey of its own that showed 14% of 2,000 UK drivers had been in a collision or near miss because of glare. Just 5% thought it was important to wear sunglasses during winter months. More worrying still, 14% said they were putting off visiting an optical practice for fear of having their driving licence revoked.
ICYMI: Also making the news in February was the tragic death and several cases of vision loss that had been linked to contaminated EzriCare and Delsam Pharma artificial tears.
March
The first of 2023’s major myopia management stories explored the challenges and understanding among parents of myopia’s risk. A survey of 200 parents in the UK carried out by myopiafocus.org found a knowledge gap when it came to myopia, with 97% aware of the term ‘short-sightedness,’ but just 61% had heard of its clinical name, myopia. Of respondents who had a child with myopia, 94% said they did not receive treatment for the condition and 88% said they were unaware of management options that reduced the risk of progression. Tellingly, 77% of parents were in the dark as to the increased risks of developing eye health conditions in adulthood when myopia was left untreated. This lack of awareness did not stop Specsavers from entering the myopia management sector in partnership with CooperVision and Hoya. The multiple’s move into this space made myopia management options more affordable to parents.
ICYMI: Optix Conference speakers included TV personality Fred Sirieix, who feasted on bugs and critters before flying to Australia for I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here later on in the year.
April
Following an analysis of responses submitted by the profession, the General Optical Council (GOC) met to approve its response to the 2022 call for evidence on the Opticians Act. The GOC consulted on associated policies, specifically whether the GOC should amend or remove its 2013 statement on testing of sight, which stated that refraction cannot be delegated for the purposes of a sight test. It was decided not to permit refraction by dispensing opticians for the purpose of a sight test. However, the GOC agreed to revisit its 2013 policy statement so it reflected contemporary practice and took into account technological developments and changing business models. The College of Optometrists and Association of Optometrists both welcomed the GOC’s decision and said it was important optometrists remained in control of the sight test.
ICYMI: The GOC met all 18 of the Professional Standards Authority’s Standards of Good Regulation for the first time in nearly a decade.
May
Myopia continued to make the headlines in 2023, most notably with a survey conducted by the International Myopia Institute that explored global trends in attitudes and strategies for myopia management in clinical practice. It identified that too many UK practitioners were prescribing single vision methods for myopia despite research noting its ineffectiveness for myopia management.
However, James Wolffsohn, lead author and professor of optometry at Aston University, told Optician the study highlighted a decline in the use of single vision spectacles. ‘The UK largely follows the pattern in the rest of the world, with more practitioners taking an evidence-based approach, although the prescribing of single vision spectacles and contact lenses to young progressing myopes is still too high.’
ICYMI: Roadside vision screening checks found that more than 900,000 British drivers would fail to meet the basic eyesight standard for driving
June
Optics was not immune to the bite of the cost of living crisis as 22% of eye care patients in the UK postponed or cancelled a sight test in the past year due to cost concerns. A College of Optometrists survey of 2,003 adults revealed 21% were concerned they would have to delay booking sight tests for themselves or for children until they knew they could afford any required vision correction. Furthermore, there was low awareness about NHS-funded sight tests with only 50% of respondents aware that those under-16 were entitled to them and only 48% realised that sight tests were funded for those over 60.
ICYMI: NHS England gave the green light to an eye care programme for childing living with special needs.
July
Optics responded to NHS England’s Long Term Workforce Plan in July, which outlined a 15-year strategy to address the shortfall in clinical staff across the UK. With a workforce gap of over a quarter of a million predicted by 2036, the report called for immediate action. Primary eye care providers were identified as having ‘the knowledge and skills required to deliver more eye care services in the community’, and that the delivery of more eye care services on the high street could ‘alleviate pressure in other settings and improve patient outcomes’. The College of Optometrists welcomed the plan and the recognition that the knowledge, skills and expertise of eye care providers can help resolve the demand on the system.
ICYMI: Moorfields Eye Hospital started construction of Oriel, a new eye care, research and education project in London.
August
As the summer rolled on, supporters of a national eye health strategy were left disappointed once again when a bill, which would have required the Secretary of State to publish a national eye health strategy for England, failed to progress at the House of Commons. The bill was introduced as a Private Members’ Bill by Marsha de Cordova, the Labour MP for Battersea and co-chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Eye Health and Vision Impairment, and would have included measures to improve eye health outcomes, reduce waiting and times, and increase the capacity and skills of the eye healthcare workforce. De Cordova told Optician that she would continue to call for a national eye health strategy for England in the next parliamentary session.
ICYMI: The Association of Optometrists launched its Sight for Special Education Needs campaign.
September
‘Good eye health for all’ was the key theme of National Eye Health Week (September 18-24), with a focus on the need for regular eye tests. Data showed that 4.7 million NHS eye tests were lost after the pandemic and one in five had postponed or cancelled tests. Health analysts predicted that a million more Britons will develop one of the four main causes of blindness in the next decade. On a local level, practices promoted good eye health to their patients, while nationally, Specsavers emphasised the role of community optometry and called for equal access to eye care for all, especially those living in care homes. Supplement provider Macushield revealed 73% of Brits notice their eyes deteriorating with age but few know how to meet their nutritional needs. Eye supplement company Thea also introduced an Eye-Q campaign to raise awareness about good eye health.
ICYMI: The Scottish government announced a 6% fee increase for all GOS examinations including domiciliary visits.
October
World Sight Day encouraged people to #LoveYourEyes and focused on eye health in the workplace. More than 13 million pairs of eyes were tested in workplaces around the world as part of the Love Your Eyes at Work campaign. The World Health Organization released a health app called WHOEyes, which enabled users to assess their eye health. The United Nations unveiled a blurred photo exhibition connecting eye health to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Specsavers released research showing that hybrid workers spend 12 hours a day looking at screens, leading to tired eyes and headaches, yet 77% had not accessed free eye tests through their employers. Social enterprise VisionSpring also announced that it had screened the eyes of half a million factory workers in a coalition to improve worker wellbeing in apparel and footwear supply chains.
ICYMI: Vision Care for Homeless People celebrated 20 years of providing eye care to those in need. .
November
Eyes were firmly on sustainability at Optician’s inaugural sustainability conference at Dynamic Earth in Edinburgh , where practitioners and industry professionals came together to discuss creating a sustainable future. ABDO’s head of communications Antonia Chitty said optics was part of a worldwide movement in healthcare and politics. Chitty urged practices to show resilience when speaking to suppliers about how to reduce, reuse and recycle products. She also highlighted ABDO’s social, ethical and environmental that brought professional bodies together for maximum reach. Ecologist Andrew Clark from Practice Building’s Net Zero Optics initiative focused on the brutal reality of global warming and the need to balance this with optimism. Day two of the Eyes on Sustainability conference featured panel discussions from contact lenses, ophthalmic lens manufacturing, eyewear and retail operations.
ICYMI: The profession announced it would take a zero tolerance approach to workplace bullying after a GOC survey identified widespread issues.
December
The College of Optometrists shone a light on the long-running eye care access crisis affecting individuals migrating to Universal Credit (UC) in Northern Ireland, calling for immediate government intervention. College president Professor Leon Davies and trustee and council representative for Northern Ireland, Professor Kathryn Saunders outlined a five point plan in a letter to Peter May, permanent secretary of the Department of Health NI. This called for an immediate transition arrangement so people receiving UC could access eye care; immediate confirmation to NHS eye care contractors that funding will continue; instruction to the Counter-Fraud Team not to pursue eye care patients on universal credit and appropriate legislative changes. A Department of Health NI spokesperson told Optician it was committed to ‘taking necessary legislation amendments to include UC recipients with incomes below specified thresholds’.
ICYMI: Specsavers’ National Eye Health Strategy called for standardised access to eye care with community optometrists detecting, treating and managing all eye conditions.