MP for Battersea Marsha de Cordova discussed the importance of primary eye care services at a practice visit and roundtable event on January 26 organised by the Association of Optometrists (AOP).
Optometrist Karen Lockyer hosted the event at her practice Karen Lockyer Optometrists in Battersea, which was attended by independent and multiple practices, Moorfields Eye Hospital and the Local Optical Committee.
The roundtable discussion, facilitated by AOP clinical and professional director Dr Peter Hampson, explored how services vary depending on locality and how extended eye care could be provided in the community.
Attendees also addressed the need for improved IT connectivity between optometry and hospital teams and reiterated the need for a national eye care strategy.
De Cordova, also chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Eye Health and Visual Impairment, said: ‘With hospital eye services across the nation facing increasing strain, sadly it is the patients that suffer the consequences, waiting inexcusable amounts of time for diagnosis and treatment.
‘If commissioned equitably, extended eye care services would enable more patients to access timely specialist care that’s also closer to their home.’