06 July 2026
Specsavers is calling on government to improve access to community glaucoma care in England, building on proven models across the UK.
Issued on the first day on Glaucoma Awareness Week today (6 July), Specsavers has highlighted that in many cases, sight loss from glaucoma can be prevented if it is caught early and properly treated and monitored.
The multiple emphasised that, despite this, glaucoma remains one of the leading causes of irreversible sight loss in the UK, which it said is “in part due to a failure of successive governments to do more to ensure best practice in glaucoma care is followed everywhere.”
“Glaucoma needs to be higher up the agenda of policymakers in England,” highlighted Specsavers clinical services director, Giles Edmonds.
Edmonds emphasised that glaucoma already affects more than one million people in the UK and more than 100,000 additional people will be affected by 2030.
“A failure to make full use of the capacity and expertise of primary care optometry means that in too many areas of England the full burden of diagnosing and treating glaucoma is falling on overstretched hospital eye services,” he added.
Edmonds noted that, currently, glaucoma accounts for around 25% of hospital eye service outpatient activity, but “hospital workforce shortages, rising demand as the population ages and increased demand for follow-up care means hospitals are overstretched, which is causing delays in diagnosis and treatment, increasing the risk of avoidable, irreversible sight loss.”
This Glaucoma Awareness Week, Specsavers is supporting Glaucoma UK as it launches a national patient voice survey, designed to capture the experiences of people living with glaucoma and provide important insight to help inform future improvements in care.
Glaucoma Awareness Week 2026: “We only have one pair of eyes, so we need to look after them”
Opportunities and challenges in glaucoma care
When discussing glaucoma care in England, Edmonds highlighted that in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland national steps have already been taken to make better use of primary care optometry to keep more care in the community, reduce pressure on hospital eye services and reduce delays to diagnosis and treatment.
However, in England, a postcode lottery remains for patients as a result of decisions left to individual integrated care boards (ICBs), he said.
Citing an example of a successful glaucoma enhanced referral scheme commissioned in Greater Manchester, Edmonds shared through the scheme, when an optometrist identifies a risk of glaucoma during a routine sight test, they can conduct additional tests and share readings and images electronically with the consultant in hospital.
Edmonds explained: “It has made huge strides in improving access to care by harnessing the capacity and expertise that exists in High Street optometry – enabling truly integrated collaboration between community and hospital-based clinicians.”
He reported that the scheme has cut the number of patients needing to be referred to hospital by more than 50%, and that the false-positive rate is around 10% compared to around 40% in areas without an enhanced referral scheme.
Edmonds stressed: “If NHS commissioners in England would take what works and apply it consistently, we would be able to do far more to prevent avoidable sight loss. There is no longer any excuse for inaction.”
“It’s a message that we’ll continue to take to commissioners, ministers and MPs as part of our mission to improve access to care and prevent avoidable sight loss caused by glaucoma,” he added.
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