2025 unlocked

OT asked six experts to identify the key moments that the eye health profession should mark in its diary for the coming year.

1 Dr Peter Hampson, AOP clinical and policy director

“Looking to 2025, the announcement of the early outputs from the work on the 10-Year Health Plan.

“Optometry seems a perfect fit for the aims set out by Lord Darzi, but all too often eye care isn’t recognised at a national planning level.

“That means we are likely to either be incredibly busy trying to make sure we aren’t forgotten, or leaping on the opportunity we have been given. The sceptic in me presumes it will be the former, but the optimist is hoping for the latter.”

2 Donna O’Brien, policy, public affairs and research manager at SeeAbility

“Whether the Government and NHS policymakers will heed the warnings and bring experts back together to get the Special Schools Eye Care service right.

“On that note – we need to see better eye care for people with learning disabilities, a group who are 10 times more likely to have a serious eye problem, embedded into the NHS 10-Year Health Plan, as there is much more to be done.”

3 James Moseley, head of health partnerships at Specsavers

“A major moment in 2025 will be the publication of Streeting’s 10-Year Health Plan for the NHS in England and what concrete commitments, if any, it makes on shifting more care into the community and an expanded role for optometry and audiology in a neighbourhood health service.”

We need to see better eye care for people with learning disabilities, a group who are 10 times more likely to have a serious eye problem

4 Sophie Dodgeon, head of policy and campaigns at the Royal National Institute for Blind People

“For 2025, a key moment will be the expected publication of the new 10-Year Health Plan for England, due in May 2025, which will set the overall context for the health service and how it will turn the three shifts identified by Lord Darzi into reality.”

5 Dr Peter Bloomfield, Macular Society director of research

“In 2025 we’re excited to continue with our engagement with the new government and the Department for Health and Social Care, particularly over the 10-Year Health Plan.

“There is much to achieve in eye health, and a shift towards community health provision is particularly interesting for optometry.”

6 John White, AOP communications and external affairs director

“Looking ahead to 2025, we’ll be watching how policymakers translate primary care minister Stephen Kinnock’s call for action at our Labour Party fringe event into tangible progress, and how eye care integrates into the wider 10-Year Health Plan for the NHS.”