How to become “an eye care champion”

The AOP hosted a lecture and workshop on how eye care practitioners can develop their own toolkits to become “eye care champions” during 100% Optical 2026 (28 February–2 March 2026).

During the fully-booked session, which took place in the AOP Lounge, attendees heard about how they can organise an MP practice visit, build awareness of eye care via local media interviews, and build communities by engaging with local primary care networks.

The presentation was hosted by AOP communications director, John White, and head of media, PR and external affairs, Serena Box.

White told attendees that the session was designed to help practitioners “put primary care and optometry at the heart of our thinking.”

MPs and other healthcare stakeholders are important individuals for eye care practitioners to engage with, Box suggested.

Engaging with local media can also be valuable as optometrists can position themselves as experts, she added.

It is optometrists who understand “on a day-to-day basis” the needs of the profession, Box said.

The importance of strategies for communication with stakeholders and of ensuring practitioners feel comfortable if they find themselves in high-level conversations was also discussed in the session.

A reflection on the national mood

Representatives from Luther Pendragon, a strategic communications consultancy that the AOP partners with on its external affairs work, also presented during the session.

Johnny Girling, associate director at Luther Pendragon, acknowledged that there was frustration with the Government due to the cost-of-living crisis.

Voters want “actionable, clear direction on whether things are improving,” Girling said.

He noted that, as of the start of 2026, the Conservative Party had spent a year in “listening mode” after its 2024 general election defeat, but that signs of policy were starting to be seen.

There is a general a move away from two-party politics, while by-elections offer voters an opportunity to show their disillusionment with sitting parties, Girling believes.

MPs are cautious and delivery-focused, and this should influence how conversations with them are approached, he said.

Girling also noted that the Labour Party, in particular, is judged by its record on healthcare and the NHS.

Josh Richards, senior consultant at Luther Pendragon, acknowledged that the Government’s vulnerability can affect its decision making.

Labour policy was “big and sweeping” when it was first elected but had been boiled down to displaying credibility and focusing on economic stability by the start of 2026, he said.

In terms of policy, Richards emphasised that sectors that demonstrate that they can reduce pressures elsewhere will be prioritised in decision-making.

The Prime Minister was holding drop-in sessions for back-bench MPs at the start of 2026, suggesting that he is invested in giving these MPs more power, Richards said.

This means the messages optometrists are communicating to their local MPs are increasingly important, providing “a fertile ground for our policy asks,” he told attendees.

The AOP at work

Delegates heard that the AOP needs to demonstrate that optometry can achieve NHS performance, support the Government’s direction, the put patient stories at the centre of their policy asks.

The association is influencing the Government in a number of ways, attendees were told, including by partnering with think tanks, as they did in hosting a panel discussion alongside Progressive Britain at the Labour Party Conference in 2025.

The panel discussion, entitled Moving care closer to home: after 30 years of policy failure – what now?, included the primary care minister, Stephen Kinnock MP.

The AOP also works with the media and the general public, and helps to organise MP practice visits and correspondence with the profession.

The aim is to “position the AOP as not pointing out problems, but providing solutions,” Richards said.

This is important because the Government is “looking to health as a pillar of its legacy,” he explained.

Box identified recent AOP successes, including the association’s You won’t see it coming campaign, which works to reduce the postcode lottery for glaucoma care in the UK.

The campaign, which launched in June 2025, garnered more than 30 broadcast interviews and was mentioned in more than 150 regional press outlets, Box shared.

Everything that the AOP does is underpinned by an evidence base, usually led by data, she noted.

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Box also noted the importance of the AOP’s co-commissioned PA Consulting report, published in November 2024, which highlighted how the benefits of utilising optometry in clinical interventions could release one million extra appointments per year.

The report’s findings have helped to engage MPs and ministers in the discussion about utilisation of optometry, Box revealed.

She urged optometrists to work within their communities, as this will lead to positive change nationally.

“Your voice absolutely matters when it comes to creating change,” she said.

She shared an example from Gloucestershire, where optometrist and AOP board member, Ankur Trivedi, worked with a glaucoma patient to demonstrate how enhanced optometry services in the county are working successfully.

Attendees were shown a video, used as part of the AOP’s You won’t see it coming campaign, that explained how former MP Paul Tyler was diagnosed with glaucoma after a routine visit to Trivedi’s optometry practice, despite having no family history of the condition.

Unfortunately, the eye care that Tyler received is not the norm across the country, Box emphasised.

She used the case as a clear example of how practitioner voices, in this case that of Trivedi, can strengthen national campaigns.

Richards also noted that it is important to share examples of good practice as part of this work – if eye care works particularly well in a geographic area, this success should be highlighted so it can then be replicated elsewhere, he said.

How the AOP’s vision and driving campaign has influenced change

The AOP has been working on its driving and vision campaign, entitled Don’t swerve a sight test, since 2017.

Box noted at 100% Optical that the then health secretary, Wes Streeting MP, acknowledged the recommendations made as part of the campaign as the correct approach.

The campaign has involved working with bereaved families over a number of years, with the aim of encouraging drivers to have regular sight tests.

The campaign identified that 56% of optometrists had seen a patient in the previous month who had continued to drive despite being told that their vision was below the legal standard.

The campaign also found that 26% of people are concerned about someone they know driving despite having poor vision.

An open letter to the transport secretary in 2025, written by the AOP and the College of Optometrists, called for review to vision standards for drivers.

A government consultation on introducing compulsory sight tests for drivers over the age of 70, part of the Road Safety Strategy, was held between January and May 2026.

Box also told attendees about the AOP’s success in political engagement, including hosting 30 MPs at a Westminster drop-in event in December 2025.

“The idea is that no matter where you live, you have access to the same levels of eye care, based on need and not postcode,” she said, noting that care closer to home is integral to the Government’s neighbourhood health plans.

“The case for enhanced community optometry has been made,” Box said.

She also noted that practitioners can get patients involved in developing the message that they want to share, if patients are open to the idea.

The main takeaway from the session should be that AOP members have the tools that they need to invite MPs and media to become advocates of the profession, Box said.

Richards noted that optometrists can speak with authority on the issues that the profession faces, and that the AOP can help with policy detail if and when required.

Human interest stories are often of value when having these discussions, Richards added.

He also noted that MP practice visits can present an opportunity for AOP members to speak about their key challenges and opportunities, and to display the work that takes place as part of enhanced care schemes.

Hosting an MP in practice can showcase what optometry is doing to help meet the wider challenges that the NHS is facing is key, he reiterated.

Girling noted that many in the profession are facing similar challenges, and that if everyone has the same problem it becomes easier for an MP to raise it in Parliament.

Richards emphasised: “Patient experience is critical to Government. Ultimately, the Government wants to know what matters to voters, and they want voters to feel the impact of the policies.

“These aren’t just technical exercises. This is to improve patient care, and the AOP can position itself as a provider of a solution offers visible improvements to patients’ day-to-day experience of the NHS.”

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