Eyes on the prize: the challenges of 2023 and optimism approaching 2024

For the eye care industry, this has involved balancing increasing costs with increased community need for our services.

However, as the representative body for optometrists and dispensing opticians in Scotland, these challenges have not been without successes for the industry throughout the past 12 months.

More than 2.26 million eye examinations took place in Scotland across the past year, back to pre-COVID-19 levels

Celebrating success

Earlier this year, we welcomed our third consecutive General Ophthalmic Service (GOS) fee uplift at 6%, a further increase from the 4.5% uplift agreed in 2022, and 3% uplift for 2021.

These increases ultimately make it more viable for NHS funded eye examinations to be undertaken across the country, allowing for the most vulnerable groups within Scotland to have equal access to primary healthcare services.

We also noted a return to pre-pandemic public engagement with community practices – more than 2.26 million eye examinations took place in Scotland across the past year, back to pre-COVID-19 levels.

It goes without saying that the early detection of health issues or abnormalities provides a huge advantage to securing effective and appropriate treatment before symptoms worsen and, in some cases, become irreversible. Equally, community provision of these crucial healthcare services reduces the need for secondary care involvement – meaning fewer people reach hospital due to preventable or treatable conditions.

I am exceptionally proud of the recovery that the eye care sector has made across the past two years, throughout which we have continued to deliver high-quality service to the Scottish population. As we approach a new year, I am hopeful that this momentum carries forward.

Committed to advancing world-class eye care in the country, Optometry Scotland continues to campaign on behalf of the sector’s workforce and protect the interests of Scottish patients

Recognising and overcoming obstacles

While there is much to celebrate, we must also focus on the new challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.

Committed to advancing world-class eye care in the country, Optometry Scotland continues to campaign on behalf of the sector’s workforce and protect the interests of Scottish patients. As such, we have prioritised the deployment of short-life-working groups to investigate the use of technology in community optometry and the provision of domiciliary care services.

It is our intention to deploy an internally funded and managed optical coherence tomography (OCT) short-life-working group. This crucial technology provides preventative care for patients through advanced detection of conditions such as glaucoma and retinal diseases, including macular degeneration.

While initial investment in fundus cameras were provided by the Scottish Government in 2008, technology has moved on and given way to private practice of OCT care. Investigation into such a service, I believe, will reiterate areas in which community optometry care can reduce burden on the NHS and improve patient journeys through early diagnosis.

This is just part of Optometry Scotland’s strategy to ensure that we can support our members in the years ahead. Recent challenges have highlighted both our agility and resilience, but as we settle into normality once again, we return to our primary focus: advancing world-class eye care in the country.

About the author

Julie Mosgove is an optometrist and chair of Optometry Scotland. For more information about Optometry Scotland, visit its website.