26 September 2025

FODO member update – 26 September

This week:

• Primary eye care commits to helping the NHS
• National Eye Health Week
• Primary care optometrists: ‘skilled, local and ready to help'
• Researchers find primary eye care delivers significant benefits
• Charity celebrates ‘huge win for fair access'
• GOC publishes Workforce and Perceptions Survey
• Scottish Government celebrates new enhanced eye service
• At a glance
• Health policy

Primary eye care commits to helping the NHS

Leading sector bodies have outlined how optometrists and dispensing opticians are ideally positioned to help implement the 10 Year Plan.

In a statement, the OFNC and The College of Optometrists commit to working with the NHS to promote the benefits of the national sight testing service, developing commissioning frameworks for enhanced eye care services and embracing innovation to improve access to care and prevent sight loss. The statement also stresses the need to invest more in primary care to enable this change. Read more. 

National Eye Health Week

ABDO, The College of Optometrists, and FODO are all official supporters of National Eye Health Week (NEHW), the annual event that boosts the profile and the benefits of eye care and good eye health.

This week, FODO's Clarity news has been reporting on the event. Highlights include:

• Celebrating NEHW, Clarity interviewed Lord Paul Tyler about how routine checks detected his glaucoma. Lord Tyler told Clarity that he wanted to tell his story to "give as much publicity for the people on the high street who are regularly checking eyes to be given the opportunity to look for signs of glaucoma". Read more.
• Vision Care for Homeless People has advocated for improved access to eye care for all individuals experiencing homelessness. Read more.
• RNIB Scotland has called on the government to ensure that eye care remains free for everyone in Scotland, setting out the benefits of the sight testing service in preventing sight loss. Read more.

• The College of Optometrists supports an NEHW initiative to boost awareness about the importance of routine eye tests for children. Read more.

Across the UK, Independent practices, including those within the Hakim Group, as well as regional and national eye care providers, also celebrated NEHW. 

Primary care optometrists: 'skilled, local and ready to help'

A Stormont event has highlighted how community optometry can ease pressure on hospital eyecare services today and shape eyecare services for tomorrow. Optometry Northern Ireland organised the event, which took place this week, bringing together parliamentarians, clinicians, policymakers and patient voices to raise awareness about the art of the possible.

• Read more @Clarity.
• Read the Department of Health's positive reflections on the event.

Researchers find primary eye care delivers significant benefits

Researchers at Cardiff University have evaluated the new NHS WGOS contract and found that in just one year, primary eye care reduced the number of people on the nAMD waiting list from over 216 to 3, and from 5,691 to 5 people with glaucoma. The research contributes to the growing body of evidence demonstrating the positive impact that primary eye care can have on patients and the wider NHS. Read more. 

Charity celebrates 'huge win for fair access'

RNIB Northern Ireland has welcomed legislative changes that will see automatic eligibility for free eye tests (and dental care) for 82% of people on Universal Credit living in Northern Ireland.

Robbie Butler, MLA and chair of the Stormont All-Party Group on Visual Impairment, said this was "a huge win for fair access to healthcare and proof of what persistence and partnership can achieve".

The RNIB said it was "delighted to see this legislative change in NI, the result of a relentless campaign led by ourselves, Robbie Butler MLA, members of the All Party Group on Visual Impairment and optician Sam Baird". Read more. 

GOC publishes Workforce and Perceptions Survey

The GOC has published the findings from its 2025 Workforce and Perceptions Survey, which aims to gain a deeper understanding of registrants' work experiences, including their views on job satisfaction, working conditions and the GOC.

As the GOC seeks to reform business regulation, it focuses its press release on commercial pressures, although the survey helpfully covers a broader range of issues.

Response rates dropped to a record low of 12% (down from 17% in 2021). However, the GOC observed that among the optometrists who responded, 48% believed they didn't have enough time for a sight test to ensure safe care, and 38% felt pressured to see a large number of patients each day, which affected their ability to provide safe care.

While those who opted to respond to the survey may not be representative of the wider registrant population, among those who did respond, just 55% were satisfied with their job/role, down from 58% in 2024.

Survey respondents also reported experiencing harassment, bullying or abuse at work in the last 12 months, with patients, service users, and other members of the public the most common cause, followed by managers, other colleagues and educators.

While most felt comfortable speaking up, they were least comfortable speaking up to the GOC. Most respondents felt the GOC assured the quality of optical education and set fair/proportionate standards. Only 38% thought that the GOC is fair to registrants when taking action through the fitness to practise process.

The results also cover the reasons driving work satisfaction and dissatisfaction, as well as career plans.

View the full research report and infographic.    

Scottish Government celebrates new enhanced eye service

The Scottish Government has welcomed a new NHS-funded primary eye care service, which will be run by Independent Prescribing (IP) optometrists and is expected to free up to 20,000 hospital appointments each year.

Public health minister Jenni Minto said: "This new service will mean people can get treatment for more eye conditions in the community, without the need to travel for a hospital appointment. It will get people the treatment they need faster, improving outcomes while also freeing up vital hospital capacity for more serious cases."

Read more.

In related news, the Scottish Government has published the latest PCA, which covers the launch of a digital application hosted on TURAS, rolling out from 24 September. It also includes a reminder about completing GOS mandatory training by 30 November, as well as new directions regarding the uplift of CGS remuneration. 

At a glance

• The Royal College of Ophthalmologists apologises for a technical issue that disrupted essential examinations. Read more.
• AOA reports on optometrist who suffers AI deepfake impersonation that's being used to promote non-evidence-based care.
• Reminder: The PCSE system will be down from 11.59pm today until 27 September.
• Hoya has launched a new myopia campaign, reports Optician.
• New glaucoma campaign to help tackle the risk of sight loss in people from African-Caribbean communities. Read more at Primary Health Net.
• Eye care device wins engineering award. Read more.
• Specsavers publishes its latest Access to Care report 2025. Read more.

Health policy

• BBC reports on Health Foundation research highlighting that the government is unlikely to meet its primary aim for the NHS in England of tackling consultant-led waiting lists.
• NHS Providers, meanwhile, has welcomed news that NHS hospital productivity rose by 2.7% over the last year. You can also read the government's response here.
• BMA condemns Reform announcement on immigration for the negative impact it will have on the international workforce that is the "backbone of health services in the UK".
• Government announces plans to boost testing of AI tools in NHS diagnostics. Read more.