Parliamentary event aims to raise profile of eye health

The Eyes Have It is a partnership of Macular Society, Fight for Sight/Vision Foundation, RNIB, Association of Optometrists, The Royal College of Ophthalmologists, and Roche. Roche has funded the activities of the partnership.

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The Eyes Have It (TEHI) coalition will hold its second Westminster Eye Health Day next week (19 October).

To be hosted by Marsha de Cordova MP, the parliamentary drop-in event aims to raise the profile of eye health in the UK as well as campaign for more joined up care through a national eye care strategy in England.

Leadership and accountability is needed from the Government in order to transfer services and prioritise eye health and research for the long term, the coalition has highlighted.

TEHI national partnership was initially formed in July 2021. It is supported by Roche Products Ltd, the AOP, the Royal College of Ophthalmologists, Fight for Sight, the Macular Society, and the Royal National Institute of Blind People. Roche funds the activities of the partnership.

Practitioners are encouraged to support this year’s Westminster Eye Health Day by writing to their constituency MP calling on them to attend. To support its members in doing so, the AOP has created a downloadable template letter that can be amended and signed. Those wishing to find out who their local MP is and how to contact them can visit the Parliament website.

In the lead up to the event, an advertising campaign launched on Monday (10 October) at Westminster and Old Street tube stations, the closest stops to Parliament and Moorfields Eye Hospital respectively.

In 2021, the first Westminster Eye Health Day was attended by more than 50 MPs and resulted in support for sector calls on the establishment of a national clinical director for eye care. The post was subsequently created and filled in July by consultant ophthalmic surgeon and medical director of Moorfields Eye Hospital, Louisa Wickham.