The College of Optometrists launches its Manifesto for Wales: Securing sustainable eye care

The College of Optometrists has today published its Manifesto for Wales: Securing sustainable eye care, calling on the next Welsh Government to continue leading the way by expanding community eyecare services to further improve access to eyecare and prevent avoidable...

The College of Optometrists calls for shift in detecting and managing glaucoma

The College of Optometrists calls for shift in detecting and managing glaucoma by fully unlocking safe and effective primary care capacity Glaucoma is the second leading cause of irreversible sight loss in the UK and affects over one million people,...

David Reed MP met with clinical teams in Exeter who are supporting NHS ophthalmology services

MP for Exmouth and Exeter East visited SpaMedica Exeter to discuss how independent sector capacity is supporting NHS ophthalmology services across the country. SpaMedica is one of the UK’s largest independent providers of NHS-funded ophthalmology care, specialising in cataract surgery...

Using medical AI as ‘autopilot’ risks deskilling of clinicians, caution doctors and aviation safety experts

As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes increasingly integrated into healthcare services, there are important lessons that the medical profession can learn from the aviation industry, which faced widespread loss of human skills after the adoption of autopilot. While calls for medicine...

World-class eye health centre in London named

A new, world-class centre for eye care, research, and education, opening in Camden in 2027 has been officially named. A partnership between Moorfields Eye Hospital, the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, and Moorfields Eye Charity, the new centre will be called...

College of Optometrists and RCOphth form new Eye Care Interoperability Steering Group

New cross-sector Eye Care Interoperability Steering Group formed to spearhead the development and implementation of common standards for eye care images in the UK . A new Eye Care Interoperability Steering Group has been established to accelerate the adoption of...

Scottish Government announces permanent free rail travel for companions of visually impaired people

Sight Scotland and Sight Scotland Veterans welcome the Scottish Government announcement today that free rail travel for companions of visually impaired people has been made a permanent policy across all ScotRail and Caledonian Sleeper services. Sight Scotland and Sight Scotland...

The College of Optometrists launches its manifesto for eyecare in Scotland: building on success

As Scotland marks 20 years since it became the only UK nation to introduce free NHS-funded eye examinations for people of all ages in 2006, The College of Optometrists is calling on the next Scottish Government to continue leading the...

Cataract surgery and the carbon footprint: Lessons in sustainability from Aravind Eye Hospitals, India

Climate change is among the most urgent global health threats. In 2016, environmental factors caused 13.7 million deaths worldwide, underscoring the link between planetary and human health [1]. Healthcare itself is not blameless. Globally, the sector accounts for 4.4% of...

The next evolution in cataract surgery: UKISCRS releases its Dropless Cataract Surgery Guidelines

Dropless cataract surgery is an evolving approach designed to simplify postoperative care by reducing or eliminating the need for patient-administered eye drops. The recently published guidelines by UKISCRS outline best practices to ensure safe, effective implementation of dropless techniques while...

New Year’s Honours: Chair of Deafblind UK awarded OBE for services to people living with deafblindness

Deafblind UK has today welcomed the announcement that its Chair, Robert Nolan, has been awarded an OBE in the New Year’s Honours List for services to people living with deafblindness. Robert, who is deafblind himself and lives with Type 2...

Seven in ten UK adults support compulsory eye tests for drivers to improve road safety, new research reveals

The College of Optometrists and the Association of Optometrists say research shows “current vision checks aren’t keeping pace with what’s needed to keep everyone safe on the road” Seven in ten UK adults support calls for the introduction of mandatory...