Optics’ new alliance targets NHS event

For the first time optometry will have a substantial presence at this year’s NHS Confederation conference.

Next week’s event, which attracts around 2,000 senior NHS managers and directors annually, will see the launch of the Eye Health Alliance, a new group formed to advance the profession and awareness of eye conditions.

Health secretary Patricia Hewitt will make a keynote address, and other speakers include shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley.The coalition involved in the alliance includes the AOP, ABDO, College of Optometrists, FODO, the GOC, as well as the Royal College of Ophthalmologists and the RNIB.

Encouraging the message ‘promoting eye health for all’, the Eye Health Alliance will offer delegates the opportunity to have their retinas photographed and will use the event to raise the health benefits of regular eye examinations.