Community eye healthcare championed at party conferences

Community eye healthcare championed at party conferences

The role of community eye and hearing healthcare within the health service – now and in future – is being highlighted at political party conferences this autumn.

Specsavers is attending the Liberal Democrat, Conservative and Labour conferences to champion the access to care that community eye and hearing care services already deliver – and how clinicians, and their teams, can do even more as experts who care.

‘Specsavers is committed to going the extra mile for the communities that we serve to ensure access to high-quality care and treatment, which is why we’re attending these conferences,’ says Giles Edmonds, clinical services director at Specsavers.

‘We also know that the health service is very much in the spotlight, following the Westminster government’s publication of its 10-year plan for health. It is vital to engage with decision-makers as this plan takes greater shape.’

Through the plan, Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting has set out a vision of a neighbourhood health service. This includes a shift from hospital to community, illness to prevention and analogue to digital. Scotland and Wales will also be holding parliamentary elections next year, where health is likely to dominate the agenda.

Mr Edmonds adds: ‘We believe that community optometry and audiology is critical to delivering an accessible neighbourhood health service.

‘We’ll be talking to MPs and delegates at the conferences about the life-changing work being done for example around community glaucoma services. Plus, setting out how fully using the skills of our clinicians will deliver even more benefits for patients and the health service.’

Specsavers has also joined forces with Glaucoma UK to host a stand at the Conservative and Labour conferences to highlight the importance of eye health for the nation.

‘We are looking forward to raising awareness of glaucoma at the party conferences with those directly involved with shaping the future of the health system in the UK. As the UK’s only charity solely dedicated to glaucoma, we will be sharing details of our work to champion the needs of patients, provide trusted information and offer expert advice and reassurance via our helpline service,’ says Joanne Creighton, CEO of the charity.  ‘We are here to help everyone live well with glaucoma.’

The Specsavers team, which includes clinicians at its heart, will be staffing eye health checks on the stand. It also features an interactive map setting out the provision of NHS-commissioned services to highlight the current postcode lottery in England in particular. Hearing health checks will be available at the stand as well.

There will also be fringe events, sponsored by Specsavers, at the Labour conference bringing together leading figures from politics and healthcare to discuss the role of community optics and audiology.