Key milestones

Louise Furby, senior events, planning and communications manager at Specsavers, on using her personal experience to launch a menopause community for staff

Lynda Oliver, head of wellbeing and external relationships at OutsideClinic, on the importance of whole company engagement when prioritising staff mental health

Optometrist Robert Longhurst on setting up a free patient support line to relieve hospital eye departments during the pandemic

The AOP’s membership benefits officer, Sarah Melzack, explains the steps behind a new initiative that is bringing support to optometry’s newest recruits

Practice owner Peter Frampton was in the first class of optometrists to qualify in independent prescribing, in 2009. More than a decade on, he explains how having a fully IP staff has huge benefits for the contact lens side of his business

Peter Thomas, director of digital innovation for Moorfields Eye Hospital, on setting up the Department of Digital Medicine

Dionne Spence, director of casework and resolutions at the General Optical Council, tells the story behind the launch of the regulator’s new bulletin, FtP Focus

Maurice Geary, director of Orbis’ Flying Eye Hospital, on the acceleration of blended learning during COVID-19 and how the charity’s training adapted to international lockdown

Sarah Campion, director of engagement at Fight for Sight, tells OT  about the charity’s Time to Focus research report, which is calling for a doubling of investment in eye health research over the next decade

Ian Cameron, of Edinburgh’s Cameron Optometry, on building an IP-qualified workforce and why upskilling is essential for the future of the profession