FODO member update – 8 May

This week:

• OFNC seeks urgent engagement with the profession
• FODO Group AGM and annual report
• Glaucoma care ‘systematically neglected’
• Call for optometrists to join BVD study
• At a glance
• Health policy news

OFNC seeks urgent engagement with the profession

The OFNC will host a series of webinars with LOCSU to better understand the extent and impact of financial pressures and unfunded work on GOS contractors. The webinars will also offer contractors an opportunity to share their views on the consequences if 2026/27 fees fail to keep pace with inflation. Read the full OFNC statement

Dates and times for the webinars will be confirmed soon.

Meanwhile, FODO members can continue to provide feedback directly to FODO and share further details by arranging a confidential one-to-one meeting with the policy team. Email us at [email protected].

FODO Group AGM and annual report

The FODO Group held its AGM on 6 May, at which the Board and members present unanimously approved the 2025 annual report and statement of accounts. The Group thanked member practices for continuing to deliver high-quality care despite continued political and economic uncertainties. Read more.

Glaucoma care ‘systematically neglected’

In Open Access Government, Shockat Adam, an MP and optometrist, writes that glaucoma care is too often neglected, resulting in avoidable sight loss. He adds that minimally invasive glaucoma surgery (MIGS) could be performed alongside cataract surgery as part of a national glaucoma pathway that fully integrates optometry and ophthalmology. He says this approach would support earlier diagnosis, reduce vision loss, and give hospital ophthalmologists more time to treat complex cases. Read more.

Call for optometrists to join BVD study

University of Manchester researchers are seeking optometrists to provide feedback on their confidence in assessing and managing binocular vision dysfunction (BVD). Participants must be fully qualified UK optometrists registered with the General Optical Council. Read more.

At a glance

• Join Optician on 13 May at 7pm for a practical, expert-led webinar on dry eye care. The webinar will cover how the condition presents in practice, ways to apply TFOS and DEWS, and the influence of hormonal changes on the condition. Register here.
• Kevin Gutsell reflects on his highlights and challenges as ABDO president, as his two-year term ends. Read more.
• AOP and The College continue to focus efforts on promoting their campaign for eyesight testing. Meanwhile, all optical sector bodies, through collaboration, are finalising responses to the government consultation on mandatory eyesight testing for drivers, supporting better checks and balances while avoiding any additional unfunded burdens on eye care providers.
• The GOC appoints two new council associates – Fahima Adam and Indy Ghuman. Read more.
• LOCSU seeks to appoint three permanent regional optometry partners. It is replacing the current advancement lead role as part of a wider structural transformation.
• Specsavers is rolling out its recycling scheme, offering customers a sustainable way to dispose of old frames, cases and contact lens packaging. Read more in Clarity.
• The Hakim Group selected 20 optometrists to take part in a two-day practical symposium on embedding dry eye management into daily practice. Read more in Clarity.
• Optician magazine talks to a dispensing optician about how tinted lenses that enhance contrast could help millions of people affected by colour vision deficiency.
• Researchers examine three meta-analyses to see whether Europe is catching up with East Asia, where 90% of school leavers have myopia, The Ophthalmologist reports.
• Researchers at the University of Strathclyde are seeking participants with Type 1 diabetes, with and without sight loss, to share their experiences of devices for managing and monitoring diabetes. Read more.
• Actor Victoria Smurfit, whose daughter has Stargardt’s Macular Dystrophy, will be the new president of RNIB. Read more in Clarity.

Health policy news

CDCs may need even more funding

The HSJ reports concerns from a leaked review that the government’s new community diagnostic centres (CDCs) could become a financial “burden” because some tests are loss-making for providers.

An NHS England review, led by Sir Mike Richards, calls for additional funding beyond the £2.3 billion allocated for the first three years of the CDC programme. The government has made CDCs a central pillar of the elective recovery plan as part of its drive to shift care out of hospitals and into the community. Read more.