Viewpoint: How a new course at the University of Portsmouth could help recruitment in the south-west

When Isobel Ryder from Portsmouth University first approached me about helping set up a new optometry course in Portsmouth, I was initially a bit sceptical. Did we need another university optometry department? Would Portsmouth be up to the task? What would my optometry colleagues think about my involvement?

The more I listened to the well thought out plans and considered my own feelings about the shortcomings of the present system, the more I came round to the idea.

The vastly increased intake of the established universities over recent years has contributed to increased numbers of students qualifying; however, these are not distributed evenly over the UK.