02 May 2025

FODO member update – 2 May

This week:

• AGM reminder
• Help us test our new website
• APPG calls for investment in eye care
• Metagenomics helps prevent sight loss
• NICE updates guidance on falls prevention in older people
• NHS to lead TED trial in UK
• England - annual GOS complaints submission
• PCSE update
• Scottish Optical Conference - 16 November
• At a glance
• Policy updates

AGM reminder

This is a reminder that FODO has given notice that it is holding this year's annual general meeting by videoconference from 10.30-11.30am on 7 May 2025. Read more and register to join.  

Help us test our new website

We are pleased to announce that we will launch a new online member magazine shortly. Clarity will offer different user experiences to reflect FODO Group membership, with members able to read the latest news and views on eye care, hearing care or both. If you would like to join our user experience panel this month and help shape what's on offer, please email [email protected].  

APPG calls for investment in eye care

Representatives from across the eye care sector joined parliamentarians at a recent APPG meeting to discuss the need for urgent action to prioritise eye health within the NHS 10 Year Health Plan to help close the gap between rising demand and long waits for care. Read more. 

Metagenomics helps prevent sight loss

The BBC reports on Ellie Irwin, a doctor who has suffered from inflammatory eye disease since 2019 and was considering having her eye removed due to the impact the uveitis was having on her quality of life.
 
Dr Irwin suffered for many years from trying to suppress the inflammatory response with medication. A doctor then referred her for metagenomics, which uses sequences of total RNA and DNA to help detect potential pathogens in difficult-to-diagnose syndromes not identified by other methods. The test identified a bacterial infection doctors believe she picked up while swimming in the Amazon River in 2018. A short course of targeted antibiotics has helped resolve the issue.
 
Professor Carlos Pavesio, consultant ophthalmologist at Moorfields Eye Hospital, told the BBC metagenomics is a "breakthrough in the diagnosis of infectious diseases".
"There are many patients we treat with chronic infections for years, but despite multiple tests, we cannot identify the bug responsible." 

NICE updates guidance on falls prevention in older people

NICE has updated its 2013 guidance Falls: assessment and prevention in older people and in people 50 and over at higher risk.
 
The committee examined the evidence on risk factors and agreed it is vital to give personalised information about falls prevention based on individual risk factors. The guidance provides examples, including advising somebody to see "an optician if vision is a problem, or an ophthalmologist, if the person has cataracts".
 
The guidance also highlights the importance of ensuring, where clinically indicated, a fall assessment should consider risk factors such as dizziness and hearing impairments.
 
Harjit Sandhu, FODO CEO, said: "Falls are more common in older people, as are vision and hearing impairments, and especially cataracts, which is why NICE specially mentioned this.

"NICE reminds all clinicians and commissioners that falls in older people can lead to distress, pain, fractures, loss of confidence, independence, and morality. For example, there is a one-year mortality rate of 31% after a hip fracture. This updated evidence-based guidance is also a timely reminder to those who claim cataracts are not as essential to treat as other eye conditions.
 
"Primary eye care providers should continue to put each patient first and refer for cataract surgery based on impacts on quality of life rather than visual acuity alone, just as NICE cataract guidance sets out. Doing this is vital to delivering the government's shift from sickness to prevention."

We advise FODO members to email [email protected] if any local commissioning system tries to impose visual acuity-based thresholds for cataract surgery without public consultation. 

NHS to lead TED trial in UK

Researchers at Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust have recruited the first patient in the UK for a new study treating thyroid eye disease (TED).
 
TED can cause sensitivity to light, blurred or double vision, red eyes and 'bulging eyes' and, in more serious cases, can result in vision loss without treatment.

During the clinical trial, patients will undergo a self-administered weekly injection of Efgartigimod for 24 weeks. The drug will target antibodies thought to trigger TED.
 
Anuradha Jayaprakasam, consultant ophthalmologist and principal investigator for the research study at the Trust, said: "TED can affect your life in many adverse ways, from things as simple as watching TV or reading, to affecting your ability to work and to drive. In the most severe cases, it can lead to visual loss if left untreated."
 
Researchers hope that if the trial is successful, it could allow ophthalmologists to offer more tailored therapy to patients suffering from TED.

Frimley Health is the first UK site to recruit patients in this international multi-site clinical trial. 

England - annual GOS complaints submission

Members in England can now submit their annual written complaints data to the BSA, including any null submissions if they have not received any complaints.
 
The collection period covers 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025. The annual GOS complaints submission national briefing from April 2025 includes guidance notes for completing the submission. If you have any questions, please email the BSA provider assurance team at [email protected].

You can submit your complaints data online by 11:59pm on 6 June 2025.    

PCSE update

Primary Care Support England (PCSE) has published an update that explains in detail the changes it is making so providers can check the date of a patient's last sight test. The new functionality will go live on 16 May. Read the full update.
 
We remind FODO members that this does not affect the sight test interval MOU between DHSC and the sector. You should always offer a sight test when clinically indicated and use an early retest code when required. 

Scottish Optical Conference - 16 November

FODO members can now register for the Scottish Optical Conference (SOC), with optometrist members paying a reduced rate of £59 and DO/CLO members £29. See the full event schedule and how to book your place. 

At a glance

• Optometry Scotland publishes a preliminary sector workforce analysis
• Matt Stringer, chief executive of the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB), has announced that he will resign in December 2025. Read more
• College of Optometrists awards its first Optometric Practice Educator (OptPE) affix to qualifying supervisors.

Policy updates

• Minister tells parliament: "The funding for NHS sight tests is demand-led, with no limit set on the numbers of NHS sight tests that can be provided. The numbers of NHS sight tests continue to increase, with 13.7 million sight tests provided to eligible groups in 2023/24, and access for NHS patients remains good."
• The government hopes that NHS App expansion will help cut waiting times in England by making it easier for patients to exercise their right to choose a provider.