04 November 2026
Westminster Eye Health Day 2026 saw 20 parliamentarians and staffers discussing recommendations made in The Eyes Have It’s new Shared Vision for Eye Care consensus statement.
The Shared Vision for Eye Care consensus statement sets out what patients say they need from eye care services, and what good care should look like across the patient journey.
The statement is intended to provide a framework for ongoing engagement with parliamentarians, policymakers and NHS leaders.
Policymakers from across the political spectrum attended the drop-in event, which aimed to raise awareness of the issues facing eye care across the country.
The annual event is organised by The Eyes Have It partnership, which is made up of representatives from the AOP, Fight for Sight, the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB), and the Macular Society. The activities of the partnership are funded by Roche.
MPs at Westminster Eye Health Day
Ahead of the event, The Eyes Have It submitted a freedom of information request to all 36 integrated care boards (ICBs) in England, in order to understand how eye health is being prioritised, planned and monitored at a local level, including in terms of strategic planning, service provision, and oversight of eye care services.
The findings highlighting examples of good practice, but also significant variation in how eye health is considered across different parts of England.
The insights were used alongside the RNIB’s Sight Loss Data Tool to assist partners when discussing eye care provision and the needs of constituents with MPs and their staffers.
MPs were encouraged to use the available insights to take action locally, including engaging with ICBs on how eye care is being prioritised and supported.
The Eyes Have It also conducted a national survey, capturing the experiences of around 300 people living with sight loss and eye health conditions across the UK on issues including access to appointments, information and communication, and support following diagnosis, ahead of the event.
The survey findings informed the development of the Shared Vision for Eye Care consensus statement.
MPs from Labour, the Conservative Party, the Liberal Democrats, the Green Party and the Democratic Unionist Party attended the drop-in, where the survey and freedom of information request findings were discussed.
Shockat Adam, the independent MP for Leicester South, who is an optometrist, attended the drop-in, as did a researcher for Helen Maguire, the Liberal Democrat spokesperson for primary care, and All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Eye Health and Visual Impairment representatives, MPs Richard Baker and Jim Shannon.
The event was sponsored by Marsha de Cordova, MP for Battersea and chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Eye Health and Visual Impairment.
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