27 February 2026

FODO member update – 27 February

This week:

• Welsh committee confronts minister over ophthalmology delays
• Optometry Wales invites feedback on WGOS
• Scottish government praises low vision service
• Survey shows DOs feel ‘undervalued'
• New eye care interoperability steering group
• Have your say on college guidance
• Researchers create ‘digital twin' for eye cell research
• Durham University research
• New PCSE functionality
• At a glance
• Health policy news

Welsh committee confronts minister over ophthalmology delays

The Welsh health and social care committee held a debate this week on the crisis in ophthalmology in which it expressed its disappointment that the Welsh Government had not accepted more of its 17 recommendations on tackling waiting lists and risks to patients.
 
Peter Fox, chair of the committee, said there was "no sense of urgency, no clear co-ordination, and no robust accountability." He cited the Welsh Government's decision to reject an "eminently sensible recommendation to establish a cross-sector oversight board before the Senedd election in May".
 
Joyce Watson MS, who sits on the committee, agreed that action was urgently needed. She praised primary care optometry's contribution, saying: "More than 3,000 appointments per month have moved from hospitals to community optometry, and there's a target of 30,000 additional appointments." She added: "Dan McGhee of the Federation of Optometrists and Dispensing Opticians told us that the new contract was supporting more practices to offer services that help to prevent patients from needing to go into hospital, and that this has especially benefited patients in rural areas who might have found it difficult to get to a hospital."
 
Responding to the committee, Jeremy Miles, cabinet secretary for health and social care, pointed to recent progress due to government investment. He said: "In primary and community care, Wales leads the way. Our services are ambitious and they're forward thinking. The optometry contract in Wales is the most progressive in the UK. It has become a model that other nations are looking to, demonstrating how community-based expertise can transform care." Read more.   

Optometry Wales invites feedback on WGOS

Optometry Wales is calling on primary eye care contract holders and professionals in Wales to complete a short survey to support the next round of WGOS contract negotiations to further improve services and systems. The deadline for the survey, which is anonymous, is 6 March. Read more and complete the survey. 

Scottish government praises low vision service

The Scottish health secretary, Neil Gray, has welcomed the Community Low Vision Service in Scotland, as "a significant step forward" in efforts to treat more people closer to home instead of in a hospital setting.

He said: "We know this delivers better outcomes and we want community optometrists to be the first port of call for all eye-related conditions. The national roll-out of these services will help free up substantial capacity in our hospitals."

The Scottish Budget, announced earlier this month, included £144 million for optometry services, which the government described as a record. Read more in Clarity. 

Survey shows DOs feel 'undervalued'

ABDO has published its recent Pay and Reward Survey findings, providing detailed insight into salaries, benefits, professional recognition and career progression across the profession.
 
The survey, which had a 27% response rate, shows that DOs and CLOs feel undervalued and often lack structured development pathways. Read more in Clarity. 

New eye care interoperability steering group

The College of Optometrists and Royal College of Ophthalmologists will co-chair a new steering group which will aim to "accelerate the adoption of consistent diagnostic test standards across eye care so images and other investigations can be saved, viewed and shared seamlessly and consistently between all primary and secondary eye care settings".
 
The work will be funded by the Optical Suppliers Association which is a membership body that includes diagnostic equipment manufacturers. The colleges note the new group will build on the work of a DICOM Task and Finish group that was initially set up by NHS England. Both colleges also hope this work will support the safe and effective use in eye care. Read more. 

Have your say on college guidance

The College of Optometrists is seeking feedback by the end of March to help shape its Guidance for Professional Practice, which it is updating this year. The document underpins how optometrists in the UK deliver safe, effective and patient-centred care, giving the college's view of good practice and what it expects of optometrists. Read more. 

Researchers create 'digital twin' for eye cell research

National Eye Institute researchers have made a digital replica of crucial eye cells to use as a tool for studying how the cells arrange themselves when healthy or affected by diseases.
 
The platform aims to help the discovery of therapeutic treatments for eye diseases, such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Read more. 

Durham University research

Durham University has announced that it will lead several workstreams for the new Northern Ophthalmic Research and Innovation Institute (NORI), which is working with
academics, industry, the NHS and local authorities to spot early signs of serious illness through eye scans.
 
NORI, a £4.2 million project hosted by the University of Sunderland, will launch in the summer alongside the opening of Sunderland's Eye Hospital. Read more. 

New PCSE functionality

The PSCE digital service platform is introducing a new functionality to PCSE Online for Special Education Setting (SES) sight tests, with additional updates to the GOS3 and GOS4 process, from late March. Read more. 

At a glance

• Minister for local transport, Lilian Greenwood, on a visit to an ACES clinic in Nottingham, highlighted how reducing delays in eye care was an essential part of the government's road safety strategy, Optician reports.
• Discover 12 things to do at the 12^th 100% Optical conference this year. Read more in Clarity
• Dr Paramdeep Bilkhu, the College of Optometrists' clinical adviser, discusses the challenges around glaucoma detection in an Open Access Government article. 
• Asda Opticians outlines what it will do with its latest £2.5 million investment. Read more
• Guide Dogs and Thomas Pocklington Trust have joined together to provide free vision impairment awareness training for bus and coach drivers. Read more.
• The RNIB responds to the government's proposed changes to special educational needs support by stressing the importance of adequate resources for visual impairment.
• Coral Eyewear announces licensing partnership with Crayola to produce child-friendly crayon-themed glasses "to inspire creative thinking".

Health policy news

ICBs responsible for addressing access to eye care
 
Stephen Kinnock, the minister of state for care, has responded to a parliamentary question from Helen Morgan MP about the steps his department is taking to help ensure equitable access to eye care services in England. He reiterated that ICBs are responsible for commissioning primary and secondary eye care services, working with "local authorities to assess the current and future health, care, and wellbeing needs of their local population".
 
He added: NHS "sight tests are widely available across the country, with no known access issues. ICBs can also commission enhanced eye care services in the community." 
 
What can we learn from OpenEyes in Portsmouth?
 
The people behind introducing OpenEyes in Portsmouth share their experiences of the successes and pitfalls of implementing the digital platform, eyenews reports.
 
The transformation needs honest evaluation, proper clinical leadership resourcing and realistic expectations about technology efficiency promises, they say.