Association of British Dispensing Opticians
‘How important will it be for practices to have a sustainability agenda in 2022?’
In order to become more sustainable, we need to reduce greenhouse gases. One part of that involves reducing waste in your practice. We know our industry uses more packaging than we perhaps need. We have to combine to reduce this and we have to be seen to be doing so. 2022’s customers are aware of sustainability. To fail to have a visible sustainability effort is to risk being identified by an ever more discerning public as a problem, potentially losing patient support. If we do take action, we are well placed to have conversations with patients about our actions to reduce pollution and how they can contribute.
I’m pleased to see action on sustainability taking place across the optical community. ABDO leads the way with its first SEE Summit, which was widely attended, and continues to lead the way with future action on carbon footprinting, emission reduction and offsetting within the organisation, education for members and tools for the whole optical community. The ABDO sustainability tool is free for all to use: the online questionnaire draws your attention to areas where you can improve your own practice. It may surprise you how much you really can do, even as a locum or part-time employee.
• Daryl Newsome, ABDO vice president
College of Optometrists
‘What public-facing health awareness campaigns are on the agenda for 2022?’
Our public-facing health awareness campaigns in 2022 will build on the success and impact of those we have delivered over the last two years. These have included Focus on Life, which featured a BAFTA Award nominated director’s take on life with reduced vision, encouraging the public to consider their sight and book an eye examination with their optometrist; Alice and Wonderland, using a blurry version of the children’s classic to highlight the importance of children’s vision; and our recent vision and driving campaign aimed at drivers and passengers. The driving campaign involved media outreach and images for use by members online, depicting the impact that specific eye conditions can have on a driver’s vision. This project achieved national media coverage and was widely shared by our members across their social media channels and on practice websites, and will continue into 2022.
Of course, the past 22 months have also focused on assessing public attitudes toward the safety of optometric practice throughout the pandemic and providing reassurance and guidance to the public about what to expect from their visit. This work will continue into 2022. As part of this, we regularly poll the public about their attitudes to their eye health, which has enabled to us to chart how views and behaviours have changed as the pandemic has progressed. Each of our existing and future campaigns will carry an emphasis on supporting optometrists, promoting patient safety and enabling optometrists to continue to do more to ease pressure on hospital eye services.
• Ian Humphreys, College chief executive
Association of Independent Optometrists and Dispensing Opticians
‘What does 2022 have in store for independent practices?’
2022 will be the year when many independents in England carefully consider whether to continue with the GOS contract or go completely private; or perhaps to migrate along that path over a period of time. With the signal failure of the OFNC over recent years to negotiate a meaningful fee increase for the provision of the basic NHS service, a tipping point has been reached for many. Of course, some practices do not have the option to drop the GOS contract due to their demographics, and for most there would be a moral dilemma in ceasing to serve their NHS patients, however, many are still likely to make the switch.
Also in 2022, watch out for strong opposition from the independent sector to the introduction of apprenticeships in optometry, and a hostile attitude to the apparent cavalier approach of the trailblazer group who are running roughshod over the views of the vast majority of the profession. Other trends will be an increasing interest in behavioural optometry and vision therapy, greater debate and controversy over the provision of online clinical services, and a focus on driving out the illegal sale of contact lenses online.
• Dr Christian French, AIO chairman
Association of Optometrists
‘Will the optical sector have optometry apprenticeships in 2022?’
It’s recognised sector-wide that there are significant risks to the current proposal for the optometry degree apprenticeship, primarily around patient safety arising from a weakened education system. The Association of Optometrists was the first optical body to oppose the scheme and argue against the draft standard in 2019 put forward by the trailblazer group. Our position is based on the concerns of our members and, in particular, we’ve highlighted how the commercial environment in which apprenticeships will be delivered could risk amplifying existing issues in workplace supervision and reduce the quality of education.
The AOP recognises that apprenticeships have been developed successfully in a wide range of professions, and proposals to develop apprenticeship pathways in both medicine and pharmacy are under way. For the proposal in optometry to make any progress in 2022, those behind it will need to engage in meaningful and open dialogue with the sector, including the AOP, and be ready to address the risks of delivery. It’s a given that any apprenticeship that leads to the registration of an optometrist must meet the same GOC education requirements of other routes into the profession, with consistent quality of assessment and teaching centred on patient care and scientific principles.
• Adam Sampson, AOP chief executive
Essilor LTD UK
‘What are the key product and service launches planned for 2022 from Essilor?’
In January 2022 we have the much-anticipated launch of Stellest lenses, which is expected to set the standard in myopia control. Trial results demonstrate compelling evidence that the lenses are one of the most effective options available for slowing down myopia progression in children today. To support myopia management, the Myopia Expert 700 instrument is now available and is a great solution for the early detection of myopia.
Essilor has also introduced a premium anti-reflective coating, Crizal Sapphire HR, for transparency that promises to stand the test of time. The coating outperforms previous generations offering up to 70% more scratch-resistance and up to 20% improvement in thermal resistance. These two improvements are thanks to the new Crizal High Resistance technology, from which Crizal Sapphire HR takes its name.
Another big focus area for 2022 will be recruiting more ECPs to join our customer partnership programme, Essilor Experts, to help support, build, and futureproof their business. Visibility and differentiation are key for independents right now and as part of the programme, we will be anticipating consumer needs to help keep independents ahead of their competition and support their path to growth.
• Tim Precious, managing director at Essilor Ltd
Moorfields Eye Hospital
‘How has the pandemic adapted your services and what changes can we expect in 2022?’
During the first 18 months of the pandemic, we had to deliver more care virtually in order to continue it. We established diagnostic hubs with remote reviews. These reduce patient appointments to 45 minutes, ensure social distancing and minimise their contact with staff and other patients. Many appointments have moved to video, including adnexal and urgent care, with remote review by clinicians. Apps such as 9 Gaze and Home Vision Monitor further reduce unnecessary hospital appointments.
We learned about optimally efficient running of one-stop cataract clinics from our cataract week, implementing a cataract list where patients are in the hospital for 90 minutes, again minimising their contact time. These models are well established now and have let us continue to maintain care during the second wave and this winter, so far.
The view for 2022 is to keep the best of this learning from the pandemic and continue to innovate. We are planning exciting new trials of home field testing, chatbots for patients, finding ways to reach the digitally excluded and using our novel pathway methods to reduce inequalities in access to healthcare.
• Dilani Siriwardena, deputy medical director at Moorfields Eye Hospital