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Sarah Joyce BEM “” Stephen Clarke “”
FODO chair, LOCSU director, and Domiciliary optometrist, FODO and domiciliary eye care
superintendent optometrist committee member
As a superintendent optometrist, I am fortunate to work Domiciliary eye care is the most rewarding and challenging
with hundreds of optometrists and dispensing opticians. area of eye care in which I have ever worked.
Our teams serve a wide range of patients, often from more You can do so much good to improve the wellbeing and
socio-economically disadvantaged regions, so we see enjoyment of life for people who often have multiple needs.
first-hand how important local, accessible and affordable These people who cannot visit their eye care provider are
primary eye care services are. also often at greater risk of eye conditions like cataracts,
glaucoma and macular degeneration.
We have much to be proud of in England, including
our national sight test service and improved access With technological innovation, we can take retinal
to enhanced eye care, including urgent care, cataract photographs and perform other advanced diagnostic
assessments, and referral refinement. tests at home, helping pick up eye diseases that would
otherwise go undetected. This national service in all four
Today we are delivering more enhanced primary eye care nations is a sight-saver and lifesaver for many, and it is an
than ever before in England. However, the fragmented honour to work in it.
commissioning system in England means we are trailing
behind the rest of the UK. This means providing just 1,167 We struggled to reach some care home patients during the
NHS enhanced eye care visits per 100,000 people, compared pandemic owing to tight lockdowns, which has made us
to more than 10,000 per 100,000 people in Scotland. more determined to ensure that everyone who now needs
help gets it. Meeting the needs of the most vulnerable is
New Integrated Care Boards provide the opportunity to a service that must be protected and built upon to tackle
help change happen by commissioning more universally inequalities in access to essential eye care.
accessible enhanced services based on clinical needs for
all patients. We stand ready to support change happen Read more
across England.
Read more
Audiology Primary Eye Care
Pharmacy
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22 FODO UK The future of primary eye care – principles and priorities 23
