The CEOs view

A line of puzzle pieces one of which is gold and has a spotlight shining on it

“Optometry is ready to help”

Fresh from attending this year’s party conferences, AOP chief executive, Adam Sampson, reflects on healthcare developments one year on from Labour’s election landslide

AOP

03 Oct 5 min read 5 mins

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The CEO's view

“Optometry is ready to help”

“There will be disagreements and there will be difficulties”

“This is a revolution, and the future is not predictable”

“The S in NHS stands for 'service'”

“I am part of a community – a family even”

“For all our differences, there is much to unite us”

Supply and demand

“The potential for AI to massively transform our lives outside healthcare as well as in it cannot be overstated”

“While the threat to High Street optometry is real, it is far too soon to be prophesying that the end is nigh”

“Everyone knows the rules of the game”

“Change is coming, change that will shape the future of all optometrists over the next decade or two”

“I am committed to leading the Association in the direction agreed by the members”

“Failure is nothing to be ashamed of”

Obstacles to eye care

“Our positioning should not be to seek to stop the rise of technology but to seek to influence and control its use”

“The membership is, after all, the ultimate authority in the AOP”

“For most of us, a visit to an optometrist is a mysterious process”

“Wherever you are in your career, you need to make sure you have a clear plan for the future”

“Optometry is a key deliverer of healthcare benefit”

“Today may be the day when global warming moves from a theory to a reality”

“Optometry has a critical part to play in helping the NHS tackle the backlog”

“Few optometry businesses appear to have succumbed directly to the pressures of the pandemic”

Lost in translation

“We have to take it seriously as a separate and critical discipline”

“The sector could be set for huge changes”

“I could see instantly the importance of the work our members do”