FODO member update – 28 August
This week:
- New FODO strategy
- GOC seeks continuing professional development reviewers
- Glaucoma UK survey reminder
- Students found to be unconfident in low-vision services
- Poor indoor lighting may be contributing to myopia
- At a glance
- Health policy news
We have published a brand-new single-page summary of FODO’s policy priorities for 2026 to 2030, which sets out clearly our policy priorities and how we plan to achieve them. The document aims to provide clarity for members, sector partners and stakeholders about the organisation’s strategic direction.
In three distinct, high-level policy priorities, FODO says it will:
- Protect patient access to core primary eye care services
- Support the expansion of enhanced care services to meet patient needs
- Enable innovation, workforce and system reform to drive improvement.
Michael Guthrie, FODO’s director of policy and regulation, said: “We continue to work to achieve our mission of ensuring high-quality, accessible and sustainable primary eye care for everyone. This document provides a clear framework that summarises the many strands of our work and we hope it will help policymakers and sector partners understand our aims and our members’ invaluable contributions.”
Read more.
GOC seeks continuing professional development reviewers
The GOC is recruiting CPD reviewers to examine registrant records and supporting evidence, provide feedback and produce reports on their findings.
The reviews take place twice a year over six-week periods beginning in April and September. The role is primarily remote and paid at £50 per review. Reviewers will also be expected to attend induction and training sessions.
The GOC said it seeks individuals who have strong analytical skills, can interpret complex information, make well-reasoned and impartial decisions and have a sound knowledge of CPD requirements.
The deadline for applications is 7 September. Find out more.
You still have time to share the national Glaucoma UK survey – which collects data on the care experiences of people living with glaucoma – with patients.
Glaucoma UK aims to collect responses from 10,000 patients and has asked for our members’ help in reaching as many patients as possible. Here’s the National Patient Voices Survey. It is open for responses until 6 September.
Students found to be unconfident in low-vision services
Researchers at Manchester University have found that optometry students feel significantly less confident about providing low-vision services than in other areas of practice. As a result, they are less likely to apply for postgraduate qualifications in this area.
The researchers discovered that the more hands-on experience the students had, the more likely they were to want to work in low-vision services. Writing in Clinical and Experimental Optometry, they said: “There is scope to increase the confidence of undergraduate optometrists in low vision before they enter the professional workforce, by exposing them to clinical experiences with low vision patients.”
Poor indoor lighting may be contributing to myopia
A study published this week in Cell Reports Medicine suggests better indoor lighting may help prevent myopia. The research explored what happened to the eyes of tree shrews, which have many similarities with human eyes. The researchers at Cincinnati Children’s and the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) found that indigo light, which is common in sunlight but rare in standard indoor lighting, prevented myopia in the shrews.
Richard Lang, PhD, director of research at Cincinnati Children’s, said: “You can cause a tree shrew to get myopia, but if you have indigo light present, you can prevent it, even though you are attempting to produce it. That is a pretty good indication that in the human population you’ll see the same thing.” Read more.
- Members of The College of Optometrists are invited to complete its annual membership satisfaction survey by 4 September and stand a chance of winning a £50 Amazon voucher. Find out more.
- The AOP has appointed four councillors to represent trainee and newly qualified optometrists as part of its updated Council structure.
- Specsavers has appointed a dispensing optician to its board and announces plans to celebrate 100 years of the profession at its upcoming professional advancement conference (PAC). Read more in Clarity.
- An optometrist in Cheshire explains why her practice introduced AI and virtual reality to test peripheral vision and help detect glaucoma. Read more.
- SightGlass Vision has announced that its DOT myopia control lenses have been sold to more than two million wearers worldwide. Read more.
- EAOO is holding a Fellowship Academy Hour on 2 September to explain what its fellowships involve and how you can apply. Register here.
- In the first operation of its kind on a live patient, neurosurgeons in London have saved a man’s sight by removing a brain tumour using AI technology that analysed live camera footage during the surgery, The Guardian reports.
ICB celebrates success of preventative health checks
Lancashire and South Cumbria ICB has reported a 12% reduction in urgent or unplanned hospital admissions following the introduction of ‘holistic health assessments’ (HHAs).
An HHA is a multidisciplinary assessment coordinated by general practice, covering areas from social care to primary care, including optometry. Once the team identifies an unmet need, it takes steps to manage that need with a referral, signposting the patient to available services.
Dr John Miles, clinical and care professional lead at the ICB, said: “By identifying unmet health, wellbeing and social needs at an earlier stage, we have been able to connect people with the right support, help them manage their conditions more effectively and reduce the likelihood of them needing emergency hospital care.” Read more.
Ophthalmologist says optometrists play vital role in eye care
A consultant ophthalmologist in Plymouth has praised the work of optometrists, describing them as the “GPs of eye care” because of their vital role in monitoring visual health and detecting early signs of eye disease, reports the We Are South Devon web magazine.
Nick Edmeadeshas, who works for Newmedica, said: “The vast majority of our patients are referred to us by external optometrists in the community who identify conditions requiring further treatment. We appreciate their hard work and support in ensuring patients are seen in the most appropriate setting.”
He added: “It’s not just eye conditions that opticians can detect – our eyes are often an indicator of our overall health and eye exams can help identify other health issues, including diabetes and high blood pressure.”