Eyecare Glasgow returned to the Glasgow Hilton Hotel on January 18-19 with a packed schedule of continuing professional development (CPD) and the return of the Eyecare Awards. Over 250 delegates were present over the two days, with support from industry leading speakers and suppliers.
The event had three education tracks on each day with two specialised clinical tracks for optometrists and one for dispensing opticians. These covered subjects including myopia management, independent prescribing, dry eye, slit lamp imaging, and optical coherence tomography (OCT).
Workshops were held on topics ranging from professional standards of practice, troubleshooting, myopia management, career progression and occupational lenses.
Graeme Stevenson, regional lead for Scotland at the Association of British Dispensing Opticians (ABDO), delivered a workshop alongside Brenda Rennie, vice president at ABDO, in which they discussed what action dispensing opticians can take, highlighting several challenging case scenarios.
‘The event was a hugely enjoyable couple of days with a variety of topics suitable for all, from students to experienced independent prescribing optometrists and dispensing opticians,’ commented Stevenson.
The CPD conference tracks were complemented with more interactive points available through the skills workshops held on stands in the exhibition space. Vision Scotland teamed up with Haag-Streit to run a gonioscopy masterclass on a virtual reality slit lamp, while Nicola Bennett, head of clinical education at Keeler, gave a hands-on workshop on using a binocular indirect ophthalmoscope (BIO) headset.
More points were available throughout the exhibition area with several interactive image and discussion boards on topics ranging from independent prescribing case records and clinical scenarios to GDPR and handling complaints.
The event also saw the return of the student/pre-reg symposium, which was supported by the Brain Tumour Charity and Out Of the Box Optics. A group of around 20 students took part in a series of practical skills workshops where they got to spend time with a range of suppliers and industry professionals. Instruction was given on using imaging devices, including OCT and Optomap, and BIO headsets as well as sessions on dry eye products and patient management systems.
The students then had mock OSCE stations, including a paediatric masterclass and a question and answer session with a team of industry experts from all sectors of the optical industry.
Charitable donations
Lorcan Butler, optical engagement manager of the Brain Tumour Charity, was on hand to deliver a series of CPD workshops during the conference was the nominated charity of the year for the event. Eyecare education director and founder Stuart Wellings said: ‘We’ve had so much support from Lorcan over the years, so we wanted to repay that by trying to raise as much money for the Brain Tumour Charity as possible.’
To raise money, the Eyecare team set up Mario Kart and Putting Green challenges where delegates wore low vision simulation specs and tried to set the fastest lap or get a hole in one. Optometrist Hamza Mussa also helped on the Birmingham Optical/Keeler stand by using his digital slit lamp photography skills to take and print polaroids of delegates irises for a small donation.
Eyecare co-founder and director Hiten Gorecha said: ‘It was great seeing so many people having fun with the charity challenges. Part of what makes Eyecare Glasgow so special is the way that people enjoy themselves. That is why we love working with companies such as Vision Scotland, which also brought along a giant ocular version of the popular board game Operation for its stand.
‘Not only did Vision Scotland deliver a fantastic keynote lecture and run some challenging and engaging independent prescribing peer reviews, but they also contributed massively to the fun and friendly atmosphere of the event,’ Gorecha added.
The Eyecare Awards were held on the Sunday evening. Britain’s Got Talent contestant Edward Reid returned as host and the event, whose theme was The Greatest Showman. A total of 240 people enjoyed a gala dinner before the awards were presented, followed by live music and dancing with the band Groove Culture.
On the Monday, a special education track for support staff and optical assistants was introduced with sessions on communication, GDPR, Rx analysis, introduction to low vision and patient retention.
‘It was great to have non-qualified staff attend the conference as they can often be overlooked in terms of education and development,’ said Wellings. ‘Francesca Marchetti, Spencer Parkes and Iain Mellis were a huge help in delivering some really important topics to a very engaging and enthusiastic bunch.’
- Eyecare Glasgow 2026 will be held at the Hilton Hotel Glasgow on January 19-20, 2026.
