Profession urged to play key role

RNIB chief executive Lesley-Anne Alexander will be urging practitioners to play an active role in the development of a national vision strategy for the sight loss sector when the charity holds its annual conference in April.

Alexander told Optician this week that after three years in her current role it became apparent that the various bodies and organisations representing partially sighted people and the blind often failed to take a partnership-driven approach on common issues.

'I was amazed at the number of organisations that users of sight loss services came across during their sight loss journey which started from their first visit to the optician to blindness,' she explained. 'There was so much duplication of efforts because we did not speak with one voice on issues of common interest.'