Next Scottish Government must expand access to community eye care services, College of Optometrists says

The asks form the basis of the College of Optometrists’ Manifesto for Eye Care in Scotland, ahead of Holyrood elections in May.

Ophthalmology is NHS Scotland’s largest outpatient service, with more than 59,800 patients waiting for a first ophthalmology outpatient appointment in January 2026, the manifesto said.

The manifesto emphasised that, of these patients, more than 3400 had waited more than 52 weeks for an appointment.

The manifesto also noted that the number of people in Scotland living with a significant degree of sight loss is estimated to rise from 183,000 to 214,000 by 2030.

Within this context, the first manifesto point focuses on expanding community eye care services in Scotland.

Early diagnosis and treatment to prevent avoidable sight loss requires universal access to enhanced community eye care services, the College of Optometrists said.

The College of Optometrists is calling on policymakers in Scotland to safeguard funding for existing community eye care services, including the NHS Community Glaucoma Service.

It is also asking the Scottish Government to prioritise the rapid scale-up of these services across the country, including in the islands and in rural communities, which have traditionally been underserved by eye care services.

This scale-up of services would allow more specialised care to be delivered closer to people’s homes and would increase hospital capacity for more complex cases, the College of Optometrists said.

The College of Optometrists also emphasised the importance of addressing inequalities in access to eye care as part of its manifesto.

Only around half of people in Scotland say they would go to an optometrist first for an eye problem, despite Scotland being the only UK nation with universal access to NHS-funded eye care, according to the General Optical Council’s Public Perceptions Research 2025.

Public education campaigns are needed in order to encourage people to attend their local optometrist for regular eye tests, the College said, adding that these campaigns should be targeted at people in deprived communities.

Targeted support and prevention programmes would help reduce avoidable sight loss and inappropriate pressure on GPs and A&E departments, the College noted.

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A restoration of funding for Docet CPD resources and an investment in digital connectivity

A commitment to investing in a sustainable, skilled optometry workforce is another manifesto ask laid out in the College of Optometrists’ manifesto.

It is critical that the Scottish Government commits to further investment in education and training “to ensure Scotland has the optometrists it needs, now and in the future,” the College said.

The College of Optometrists identified restoration of Government funding for Docet’s continued professional development (CPD) resources for optometrists as a way to ensure that practitioners can deliver eye care safely and maintain their licence to practise.

NHS Education for Scotland withdrew its funding for Docet in 2024 due to budget pressures, meaning that practitioners in Scotland no longer have access to the resource.

Restoring free access to the service would guarantee “equitable access to high-quality specialist CPD” for optometrists in Scotland, the College of Optometrists said.

Prioritisation of digital connectivity was the fourth point laid out in the manifesto.

Inconsistencies in digital systems are causing delays to diagnosis and treatment for patients, the College of Optometrists emphasised.

Locum optometrists should be granted access to both NHS email and the Scottish Care Information Gateway, and the sector should standardise digital image files in order to improve sharing between hospital and community eye care services in order to speed up referrals and ensure joined-up care, the College said.

These changes would help prevent avoidable sight loss, the organisation believes.

Building on a strong foundation

The manifesto notes that 2026 marks two decades since Scotland became the first – and as yet only – UK nation to introduce universal free NHS eye examinations.

The policy recommendations outlined in the manifesto “build on this strong foundation and further advance access to optometry-led community eye care in Scotland,” the College of Optometrists said.

The Government must “continue leading the way in expanding community eye care services to further improve access to eye care and prevent avoidable sight loss,” the College of Optometrists said.

Kathryn Trimmer, Scotland council member at the College of Optometrists, said: “We call on the next Scottish Government to build on Scotland’s eye care success by continuing to invest in optometry services in local communities across the country to meet patients’ needs, making full use of Scotland’s highly skilled optometry workforce, and further supporting training and advanced qualifications.

“This will support optometrists to deliver more care closer to home, so more patients receive the eye care they need, when and where they need it.”

Trimmer noted that there are 1600 optometrists working in Scotland, delivering almost 2.5 million NHS eye examinations annually.

Many are also providing additional services, such as treating acute eye problems, Trimmer said.

“People across Scotland need their access to high-quality community eye care services to be protected and expanded to prevent avoidable sight loss,” she emphasised.