Simon Jones: Star of the show

As a public heath initiative, National Eye Health Week (NEHW) has suffered some significant setbacks in recent years. The Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and to a certain extent in 2021, limited in-practice activities as many practices focused on dealing with backlogs and operating closed door policies. Simply put, their awareness was elsewhere.

This year’s NEHW was shaping up to be a lot better, until September 9. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s death and subsequent state funeral on September 19, the same day NEHW was scheduled to begin, naturally dominated the headlines, broadcasts and the public’s psyche.

NEHW had to quickly pivot, scaling back activity on the first day and then refocusing on the rest of the week’s activities. As Optician goes to press on Tuesday, September 20, activity around NEHW has started in earnest, with plenty of social media activity. A full report on the week’s goings on will appear in next week’s issue.