Adam Sampson, AOP chief executive, and Antonia Chitty, ABDO sustainability lead
Eye health policy
‘It is almost certain that 2024 will see a UK general election, so staying strong and united and speaking with a clear message will be key to our success as a sector,’ said Harjit Sandhu, managing director of the Federation of Optometrists and Dispensing Opticians (Fodo), pictured below right. ‘While healthcare is a devolved matter, the pressures across all UK health systems and the zero-carbon agenda means it is imperative to make best use of primary eye care to meet growing needs,’ he added.
Further to its three-year strategy for the future of primary eye care, announced in May, Fodo set out its agenda for 2024. Specific priorities included the optimisation of enhanced primary eye care services, keeping up pressure for frictionless IT connectivity between primary and secondary eye care, and building the workforce to deliver these goals.
‘We will reduce pressure on ophthalmology colleagues, improve eye health and most importantly reduce cases of preventable sight loss,’ said Sandhu, adding: ‘We’ll be showing the benefits to politicians and their constituents; namely, more patients accessing more care, sooner, and closer to home.’
As always, the federation said it will collaborate with colleagues and policymakers in each of the four UK nations to make sure eye care remains high on the health agenda and to deliver these goals. It will also continue to monitor the implementation of prominent issues, such as the education and training requirements and Wales General Ophthalmic Services reforms.
‘2024 will not be without risks but promises to be another year of progress for the sector in delivering the eye care that patients need, want and deserve across all four nations,’ Sandhu added.
Adam Sampson, chief executive at the Association of Optometrists (AOP), said the professional body reached a significant moment for optometry in 2023.
‘Our push to government for effective use of the clinical skills in optometry has gained more traction than ever before.
No better example is the invitation from the Department of Health and Social Care to develop a standard service specification for minor and urgent eye care. This is clear recognition of the highly-skilled optometry workforce and a political appetite to utilise it as part of the solution to pressures faced in secondary care, as well as on GPs,’ Sampson said.
The AOP’s policy and influencing work called for a national approach to extended eye care services delivered by primary care optometry, which Sampson added marked the edge of change. However, he noted the profession must not be complacent and the AOP had urged the new Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Primary Care and Public Health, Dame Andrea Leadsom, to double down on commitments as part of its Sight Won’t Wait campaign.
In 2024, Sampson said healthcare will be a major battleground in the run up to a general election but that Conservative and Labour would approach it with differing tactics. ‘Where the Conservatives are focused on immediate solutions to the growing eye care waiting lists in secondary care, Labour is concerned with finding fixes that will have long-term results. With this in mind, we will engage and flex our approach with key political stakeholders across the board.
‘Our presence at the 2023 party conferences gave us great leverage in putting eye health on the national agenda and we will continue to call on policy makers and parliamentarians to prioritise eye health in 2024,’ Sampson said.
Sustainability
In 2024, the Association of British Dispensing Opticians (ABDO) will be building on its work on sustainability from the past three years. Antonia Chitty, ABDO sustainability lead, said: ‘We will be looking at embedding sustainability into everything ABDO does, alongside promoting the wide range of resources on ABDO’s social, ethical and environmental (See) Hub then focusing new activity on where we can make the most impact.’
ABDO reported having a wide range of resources on the See Hub, from a self-assessment tool to help individuals and practices see where they need to act on sustainability, alongside follow-up emails to help them learn how to put changes into practice. The See Hub also contains educational videos, a sustainability policy template, and more resources for practitioners, practices and local optical committees.
Chitty added: ‘The optical community is making great progress towards sustainability. In 2024, we want to work with optical retail groups to help them break down common barriers to sustainability. We will also be talking to manufacturers about progress on everything from contact lenses to large items of equipment, working towards a circular process where possible. We are also interested to look at how sustainability is being embedded into education for the next generation of eye care
practitioners.’
Education
Lizzy Ostler, director of education at the College of Optometrists, pictured right, told Optician its priorities for 2024 included defining and inspiring excellence, and enabling optometrists to maximise their skills and develop their careers.
She said: ‘Our workforce vision is that optometrists should be at the heart of patient-centred eye care, making full use of their skills, being given opportunities to develop new skills and playing a central role in leading and delivering new models of care to improve patient outcomes.
‘Optometrists working in primary care are well-placed to provide more eye care services closer to home and to reduce the backlog of delayed outpatient appointments, without additional training. With higher qualifications and IP they can offer an even wider range of specialist services and treatments for managing patients with more complex needs.
‘Likewise, those working in secondary care can provide specialised eye care and treatments that increase the capacity of outpatient clinics. Services must be commissioned and funded to make full use of the higher and IP qualifications that many optometrists hold or are training for.’
Ostler noted that in the next year, the College would support the first cohort of students on the new Masters in optometry courses with professional formation activities. New supervisor training and support would be launched to make the journey successful for all involved, including non-optometrist eye healthcare professionals. The College would also develop a portal to deliver clinical learning in practice for the new courses, and support the transition to the GOC’s new education and training requirements.
Independents
Dr Christian French, chair at the AIO, pictured right, felt that the outlook for independent practices remained strong for 2024.
‘The cost-of-living crisis is making people re-evaluate what is important and value for money is at the top,’ he said. ‘While patients may be looking for a good deal when it comes to dispensing, there has been a shift in also looking for quality. Patients are aware that paying a little more up front actually helps save money in the long run.
Equally, since the pandemic, access to medical services is still a struggle, so an optometrist may be the only primary care practitioner some patients are seeing. Having the time to really explore concerns and look for signs of ill-health in a comprehensive, unhurried environment is much sought after by patients, and this is something independents excel at.’
French noted that the challenging state of the high street posed a problem for all retailers going into the new year. ‘As the number of vacant premises increases there’s a definite drop in casual shoppers around town centres,’ he said. ‘As the cost of utilities increases and landlords have fewer units to let, could these costs be passed on to practitioners?
‘Independents can look to improve their service by focusing on what they do best; taking their time with their patients, giving them the chair time they need and continuing to offer the quality and service expected of them by patients; after all, independents continue to come out on top of the Which? Guide,’ he added. In a period marked by hyperinflation, rising interest rates and cost of living challenges, Hakim Group practice teams have prioritised productivity and focused on ‘controlling the controllables.’
However, Barney Streeting, chief commercial officer at Hakim Group, pictured right, said as its independents entered 2024, attention shifted to fostering efficient growth as inflation eased and interest rates stabilised.
‘While it remains paramount that we maintain vigilance over productivity, we have to be ready to embrace the inevitable recovery after the macroeconomic turbulence of recent years. This includes a sharp focus on the capabilities across our independent practices.
‘We know that our teams are at the heart of our success and we are committed to enhancing their learning and development. By empowering our teams, we aim to deliver an even higher standard of service to the communities we serve and the patients under our care.
'Our roadmap includes cultivating a dynamic workforce, promoting continuous learning and enhancing competencies. This commitment to efficient growth aligns with our vision to not only navigate the evolving market landscape but also to thrive and contribute positively to the optical industry,’ he said.
Multiples
The optical sector rallying behind efforts to improve access to care for patients has been a highlight of 2023, according to Specsavers’s clinical services director, Giles Edmonds, pictured right. But with a UK general election looming in the next 12 months, Edmonds said the collaboration must continue into 2024 because it has the potential to deliver more benefits for patients and the sector’s ongoing development in providing care and supporting the NHS.
‘The sector has rallied behind calls for a Community Urgent Eye care Service (Cues) and a National Eye Health strategy for England, which would improve access to eye care and reduce pressure on the NHS.
'There is momentum, for example, following the Minister’s letter inviting the development of a standard service specification for minor/urgent eye care services in England. We have also seen our colleagues across the sector back efforts in Parliament for that strategy in England,’ Edmonds said.
‘Collectively, we need to continue to work together in the year ahead and beyond to ensure these policy developments improve access to care and are delivered at pace as there could be a UK general election within the next 12 months. Together, we can deliver even more for our patients and our profession.’
Edmonds added that developing and getting Integrated Care Boards to launch new glaucoma care pathways for the benefit of patients will be another key area for 2024, with optometrists in primary care ready and able to help prevent avoidable sight loss working with ophthalmology colleagues in secondary care.
