30 January 2026

FODO member update - 30 January

This week:

• OFNC joins parliamentary primary care event
• Locum CPD grant reminder
• College honours MP
• Cochrane partnership to support Royal College guidance
• Macron's aviators lead to surge in shares
• At a glance
• Health policy news

OFNC joins parliamentary primary care event

OFNC joined forces with other primary care bodies at a parliamentary event this week to speak to MPs about the funding challenges providers are facing and to call for a fully resourced, sustainable primary care system.
 
Successive governments have promised to deliver more services in the community, but real-term funding cuts have disproportionately affected primary care, where 90% of patient interactions take place. Lord Darzi's independent review of the NHS says that primary care's share of NHS spending fell from 27% to 18% between 2006 and 2022, while spending share on hospitals increased from 47% to 58%.
 
A briefing for MPs included the four priorities:

• Use primary care to prioritise care closer to home and patient choice
• Invest properly in primary care to future-proof the NHS
• Give primary care a role to shape the future of a Neighbourhood Health Service
• Improve digital infrastructure and IT connectivity for efficient community care

Paul Carroll, OFNC's chair, said: "Primary care already has the skills and infrastructure to deliver more care, closer to home. The evidence shows that expanding NHS services such as those delivered in high street optical practices relieves pressure on hospitals and A&Es, gives patients faster local access and choice, and delivers on the government's neighbourhood
health ambitions. But to succeed, we need to see a commitment to proper investment
that will make services both resilient and sustainable."
 
OFNC, CPE (pharmacy), the BMA (GP services), the BDA (dentistry) and the NCHA (audiology) attended the event. Read more in Clarity. 

Locum CPD grant reminder

The claims window for CPD undertaken in 2024/25 runs from 8 December 2025 to 31 March 2026. As members are aware, the CPD grant is a contribution towards the loss of chair-time involved in CPD activities and claims must go through a GOS contractor. 
 
This is a reminder to FODO members that locums must also claim the grant via a GOS contractor, usually one for whom they have done the most work over the period in question. This year, some locums seem to be having trouble getting their claims processed.
 
We are asking FODO members to help, wherever they can, so that all applicable CPD grants are claimed before the deadline. Not only is this fair to locum optometrist colleagues, but it also ensures that GOS CPD grant funding is used in eye care as intended and does not simply go into the wider NHS England pool as an 'underspend'.   
 
Please note, contractors are entitled to make a small handling charge for this service. This method of processing a CPD claim for a locum does not in any way constitute employment, as the locum remains self-employed and entirely responsible for their CPD. 

College honours MP

The College of Optometrists has presented Marsha de Cordova, MP for Battersea, with an honorary fellowship for her outstanding contribution to the optometry profession, her leadership of the APPG for eye health and visual impairment, and legislative work calling for a national eye health strategy.
 
Receiving the award, Ms de Cordova said: "Long may our collaboration and partnership continue as we try to improve the lives of so many people that could potentially acquire sight loss, as well as those living with sight loss." Read more in Clarity. 

Cochrane partnership to support Royal College guidance

The Royal College of Ophthalmologists has agreed to a pilot collaboration with the Cochrane Eyes and Vision project (CEV@US) to support evidence that underpins its guidelines.
 
CEV@US will undertake structured searches of its systematic review database and assist with quality appraisal of the evidence. The College says it will maintain complete editorial control. Read more. 

Macron's aviators lead to surge in shares

Emmanuel Macron's decision to wear aviator sunglasses at the World Economic Forum in Davos generated interest that sent shares soaring in the small company that makes the frames. iVision Tech, an Italian company that owns the eyewear brand Henry Jullien, said that shares rose 28% the day after the French president chose to wear the glasses because of a burst blood vessel in his eye, Reuters reported.

At a glance

• Optometry Scotland pays tribute to David Bonellie, former chair of the organisation, who died on 15 January. It recognised his "important role in the development and leadership of the profession through a challenging period of change". Read more
• The GOC has appointed Kalwant Grewal as a lay member of its council. His term will begin on 1 February.
  Read more
• Registration is open for the 2026 CPD programme for 100% Optical. Register here
• New research offers hope for people affected by Leber Hereditary Optic Neuropathy (LHON), which can cause sudden, rapid sight loss, Fight for Sight reports.
• The World Council of Optometry and Alcon eye care have extended their education partnership on dry eye, which provides webinars and resources for clinicians. Read more
• Specsavers has urged the eye health sector to support the proposals that Shockat Adam MP set out in Parliament last week to use primary eye care to support glaucoma management.

Health policy news

Representatives from the eye care sector and academics joined parliamentarians at the launch of 'The Value of Vision: The Case for Investment', a report calling for political commitment and sustained investment in community eye care.
 
Among those present was the health and social care minister Stephen Kinnock. He said: "I think this report from the IAPB reminds us of the number of people worldwide who still go without decent care."
 
In the UK, he acknowledged, waiting lists for ophthalmology were still too long but he added that the government had acted, for example, through public-private partnerships and supporting the shifts outlined in the 10 Year Health Plan.
 
The IAPB (International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness) has published the report ahead of the first Global Summit for Eye Health, hosted by Antigua and Barbuda in 2026. Read more.