Revised programme announced for National Eye Health Week

Organisers have confirmed that National Eye Health Week, held 19–25 September, will go ahead with a revised programme after the period of national mourning following the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

National activity for the awareness week has been cancelled during the period of national mourning, which began on 9 September and lasts for 10 days.

After this time the awareness week will resume with a revised timetable of activity.

On the first day of the awareness week, Eye Health UK – the organisers behind the campaign – plan to pay tribute to the Queen, sharing: “as a mark of our great respect and admiration we will honour the Queen on 19 September – the day of her state funeral.”

A planned national roadside vision screening campaign has been postponed until the new year, as road traffic officers have been drafted to cover state events in the capital. Instead, the campaign activity on 20 September will focus on highlighting the importance of good vision for safe driving through social media.

Organisers said that the main focus of the awareness week will now be on ‘FrEYEday’ 23 September.

Friday will mark the launch of the Eye Q Report, which looks at “how smart we are when it comes to looking after our vision and eye health,” the organisers said.

“On this day we will be encouraging people to get their eyes tested and to make small lifestyle changes to benefit their eye health to prevent future avoidable sight loss,” they added.

Downloadable National Eye Health Week resources, and advice on changes to the programme of activities, can be found on the Vision Matters website.