Optometry First – Isle of Wight

27 July 2022

There are three ‘early adopter sites’ for Optometry First, and one of them is the Isle of Wight. In this update we will cover what is Optometry First and look at how this is being implemented in the IoW so far.

What is Optometry First?

Optometry First is a national initiative which aims to support the delivery of effective eye care as part of the post-covid NHS transformation and recovery plan. CUES (covid urgent eyecare service) was instrumental in demonstrating the immense capability and value of primary eye care providers as part of a multidisciplinary team to protect the sight of the communities we support, and Optometry First uses the learnings from CUES as a springboard for developing and commissioning a full cohort of enhanced community based optical services.

Why the Isle of Wight?

The Isle of Wight, until very recently, had no locally commissioned enhanced optical services, so was an ideal example of a blank slate. CUES arrived on the island in late 2021 and Pre & Post Cataract services have been commissioned as the first Optometry First action. The island also has unique challenges as a small island and as a holiday destination which allows learnings to be found for other areas of the UK as Optometry First expands in the future.

Progress To Date & Next Steps:

As soon as we were named one of the Optometry First sites, it was all hands on deck to get elevated community eyecare up and running! On July 13^th 2022 we successfully launched Pre-Cataract services with Post-Cataract services due to commence imminently (watch this space for an update!).

Conversations are now starting around other services which may include Glaucoma Enhanced Case Finding, Glaucoma Repeat Readings, Wet AMD Enhanced Triage, and services for those with Learning Disabilities.

You can rewatch the Isle of Wight June 2022 evening webinar hosted by PES (Primary Eyecare Services) here:

AOP’s Press Release on Optometry First Feb 2022 can be found here: https://www.locsu.co.uk/optometry-first-webinar-now-available-to-watch-again/

LOCSU’s webinar on Optometry First is available here: https://www.locsu.co.uk/optometry-first-webinar-now-available-to-watch-again/