The ever-changing world of contact lenses and anterior eye continues to evolve. Every single year techniques are refined, products are upgraded and new technology emerges to change the way we work.
It is only right and proper therefore, that the profession’s flagship event reflects that capacity and propensity for change. Refreshed and reimagined for 2019, the BCLA Clinical Conference and Exhibition is back, and it promises to be a weekend to remember.
Whether you are a conference veteran who has been attending religiously for decades or someone who is thinking of coming along for the first time, we can guarantee you will discover something new.
A new venue, a new format, a new line-up of speakers from around the world and a host of new additions to the programme ensures this will be a BCLA event the like of which you have never seen before.
Change is to be welcomed, not feared. It is exciting, intriguing and what keeps us at the cutting edge of eye care.
The BCLA is known for being at the forefront of change and we will continue to embrace anything that improves the experience for patients and eye care practitioners alike.
Join us in Manchester where you will have the chance to hear from a host of passionate speakers who can inspire eye care professionals to make a real difference to patients’ lives.
This year’s BCLA Medal recipient is Professor Lyndon Jones from the University of Waterloo in Canada while Dr Nicole Carnt will present the Irving Fatt Memorial Lecture. Professor Eric Papas and Dr Jeffrey J Walline will also deliver keynote lectures at the meeting as part of an action-packed programme.
This conference is the biggest of its kind within the contact lens industry and offers delegates the chance to keep up to date with the latest research, trends and best practice.
We want to ensure everyone has access to the very latest information and technology to allow patients to receive the most up-to-date care available to them.
The conference will deliver the latest innovation and clinical insight in all areas of contact lenses and ocular surface health. A series of lectures, live podium demonstrations and practical hands-on workshops will be held throughout the weekend.
We will host a Mini Global Speciality Lens Symposium and sessions dedicated to dry eye, ocular surface, comfort, materials and myopia management will be held across the weekend.
The event will also include the only dedicated exhibition to feature innovation and up-to-the-minute technology from the world’s leading contact lens and ocular surface management manufacturers and suppliers.
It is at this meeting that industry chooses to unveil and launch the very latest technology. Now is the time to book up and ensure you do not miss out; you will hear it here first.
For the first time, at the close of day one, we will be staging the ‘Eye for Knowledge’ pub quiz delivered by the team from the Centre for Ocular Research and Education (CORE) based at the University of Waterloo in Canada. All delegates are welcome to join us for a bite to eat and get involved – it promises to be a fun way to put your learning to the test.
The eagerly-anticipated BCLA Awards Dinner will round off the event in style on the Saturday night.
The past year has seen a real focus on creating a ‘culture of collaboration’ as part of a drive to encourage closer ways of working between optometry and ophthalmology and this conference will continue to do just that.
All of us do fantastic things for our patients day in, day out, but when optometry and ophthalmology work together there is far greater scope for improved patient outcomes.
I am a big believer in team work and sharing knowledge. Simply by working closer together and opening lines of communication, eye health professionals from optometry, ophthalmology and allied health care professionals can make a life-changing difference.
The theme, and hashtag, for this year’s conference is #AlwaysLearning and it is that culture of an appetite for furthering our knowledge and a willingness to share best practice with those from other disciplines that we want to come to the fore in Manchester.
We hope you will join us for one of the undoubted highlights of 2019.