Conference focuses on meeting patient need

Giles Edmonds addresses delegates

Meeting patient need now and into the future was the focus of Specsavers Professional Advancement Conference (PAC) amid eyecare and hearing health clinicians’ growing scope of practice.

More than 2,000 people – including dispensing opticians, optometrists and audiologists – attended the conference at Birmingham’s International Convention Centre (ICC) on Sunday 3 November to take part in lectures, workshops and peer discussions.

ABDO was in attendance to share information and resources with delegates – including on the new ABDO Professional Certificate in Paediatric Eyecare.

Opening the conference, Specsavers clinical services director, Giles Edmonds, praised clinicians for serving their communities and supporting the NHS. But he noted there was more to do, in a nod to the growing scope of practice driven by reforms in Wales and Scotland alongside the potential for positive change in England.

Delegates convene at the ICC Birmingham

“We’re making great progress in our campaigning with senior politicians across the UK – but I need you all to be ready to deliver – so the question I want you to ask yourself is not ‘whether I should be gaining higher qualifications’ – rather ‘which one should I sign up for?’ and ‘how quickly can I start?’.”

Giles also highlighted what Specsavers was doing to support its clinicians, saying: “We have an unwavering commitment to continue to support you both developmentally, as well as up-skilling the teams who support you. We continue to fund professional certificates in glaucoma, medical retina and IP, with more places available for you to take your next development step.

“These qualifications are not just incredible in taking your clinical decision making to the next level – they are now fundamental to our strategy to offer more eyecare services in primary care.

“For our dispensing opticians, we’ve teamed up with ABDO on the new Professional Certificate in Paediatric Eyecare, which we will also be funding.”

Speakers included Professor Pearse Keane and Dr Peter Thomas from Moorfields Eye Hospital discussing how artificial intelligence (AI) could be used to help shape the future of eyecare. Daniel Hardiman-McCartney, lead clinical adviser at the College of Optometrists, Dr Peter Hampson, clinical and professional director at the Association of Optometrists, and Paul Morris, Specsavers director of professional advancement, joined the same discussion considering developments over the last 30 years and the future ahead.

Visiting from Australia, guest speaker Karen Roberts, head of global customer enablement at Carl Zeiss Vision International, joined Specsavers’ Richard Couch and Daniel Green to discuss the evolution of progressive lens design principles and technologies, and how to identify the best lens designs for wearer acceptance.

Mike Horler, a consultant optometrist in medical retina at Sussex Eye Hospital and a visiting lecturer at the University of Hertfordshire, spoke about the role of AI in optical coherence tomography (OCT) and OCT angiography.

In audiology, Professor Manohar Bance from the University of Cambridge talked about genetic hearing loss and recent advances in gene therapy for hearing loss. Zara Musker, captain of the England Women’s deaf futsal team, cochlear implant user, and recently qualified clinical scientist in audiology, answered delegates’ questions.

There was also a session that brought together leading organisations from across the audiology sector – including BAA and BSHAA – to talk about key issues facing clinicians and the importance of ongoing conversations within the sector and beyond to address them.

The work of eye and hearing health practitioners was also recognised at the conference, with Specsavers founders Doug and Dame Mary Perkins handing out awards to colleagues who have gone above and beyond in their commitment to clinical excellence and customer care.

Conference was open to all practitioners

The dispensing optician award went to Rachel Clarke, with Matthew Gorst named as the domiciliary winner – both from Wales – while Natalia Frej from Scotland scooped the audiology medal for clinical excellence.

Clinical excellence medals were awarded to optometrists Jaswinder Singh Nagra for England, Matthew McKenny for Northern Ireland, Alana Moore for the Republic of Ireland, Jill Rooney for Scotland and Sally O’Connor for Wales.

Specsavers teams in practices across the UK, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland were recognised for their customer service. Optical winners were New Malden in England, Omagh in Northern Ireland, Clondalkin in the Republic of Ireland, Inverurie in Scotland and Newport in Wales. The domiciliary winner was Specsavers Manchester 2 service. Drogheda in the Republic of Ireland won the audiology award.

Pioneers of the PAC were also recognised, including Specsavers director of professional services, Paul Carroll, who has attended every conference.

Paul said: “The motivation behind that first PAC was our passion and drive to lead the profession – and a willingness to run towards change – which is still unswerving today.”

He added that the next stage of the advancement was here and urged colleagues to look at what higher qualifications they could gain to be prepared for the future.