Eye health championed in the Houses of Parliament

The fourth Westminster Eye Health Day took place on 29 October, bringing together MPs, policymakers and experts from the eye care sector

The Eyes Have It partnership, funded by Roche, hosted Westminster Eye Health Day – a parliamentary event designed to raise the profile of eye care and opportunities to improve eye health with MPs and policymakers.

The coalition, made up of six organisations, brings together the Association of Optometrists (AOP), Fight for Sight, Macular Society, the Royal National Institute of Blind People, the Royal College of Ophthalmologists and Roche to champion the importance of eye health.

Marsha de Cordova, MP for Battersea and Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Eye Health and Visual Impairment, sponsored the Westminster event.

Adam Sampson, AOP Chief Executive said: “Now is a particularly important time to push forward the eye health agenda and a national plan for eye care. We not only have a new government but one which has explicitly mentioned optometry as part of the healthcare agenda. The 10-year plan for health, which is being created, also gives us an opportunity to promote eye care, eye health, and optometry. Which is why having this type of open forum to speak to MPs directly on the solutions that work for patients is a vital step.”

This year’s event was attended by 29 parliamentarians including Helen Morgan, Liberal Democrat’s spokesperson for health, Jess Brown-Fuller, Liberal Democrat’s spokesperson for hospitals and primary care, members of the APPG on Eye Health and Vision Impairment, and members of the Health and Social Care Select Committee.

Dr Peter Hampson, Clinical and Policy Director at the AOP, said: “We’re proud to be a part of this partnership that is working towards crucial improvements to eye health and eye care.

“Demand for eye care services has been steadily increasing and factors such as an ageing population and the COVID pandemic have compounded the backlog. The best way that we can tackle the eye care crisis and prevent avoidable sight loss is to move more care into community optometry through the implementation of a national eye care plan.

“A clear roadmap is set out in the Laying the foundations report to shape change that will revolutionise eye care in England. We look forward to building on our engagement with Parliamentarians to ensure every patient has access to high quality eye care where and when they need it.”

The Laying the Foundations report was launched by the partnership in 2023, and further amplified at this year’s event. MPs and policy stakeholder attendees had the opportunity to discuss the key challenges impacting patients and the policy solutions to address them. The report outlines recommendations for a National Eye Care Plan in five core areas:

Increased IT connectivity between primary and secondary care providers and the collection of comprehensive data to support service and workforce development
Prevention, diagnosis and early intervention supported by consistent commissioning of universal eye care services
Equity of access, support and patient empowerment throughout the patient journey
Expansion and upskilling of the eye care workforce to deliver more clinical care outside hospital settings
Use of new technologies in treatment models, investment into research for future treatments and the implementation of a new approach to the availability of treatments.

For more information and to read the report in full, visit The Eyes Have It.