O U R Y E A R I N F O C U SA N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 3 - 1 4

A message to our members The College of Optometrists has a unique role to play in supporting you and helping to ensure you are well placed to deliver the highest quality eye care to your patients. We fulfil this important role by being both responsive and proactive – by listening to what our members need and by supporting you in your professional development. We are your very first port of call – there are other bodies to support you if you get into trouble, but the College is there to make sure you don’t get into trouble in the first place, particularly by issuing easy to understand guidance on professional practice and providing a dedicated clinical advice service for individual optometrists. In this way we also serve the public – by making sure that you’re able to offer your patients the very best in patient care.

We have more than 14,000 members who recognise that the College is a strong voice in representing your profession because of its members. But we strive constantly to improve and offer more to our members as the landscape in which you practise shifts and changes.

This report highlights our achievements over the past year. As you will read in the pages that follow, we doubled the number of our very

popular regional events for members, published our revised guidance on professional practice, ran the largest ever annual conference with a record 700 delegates, continued to develop our suite of new higher qualifications, increased the international ranking for our journal Ophthalmic & Physiological Optics (OPO), developed and distributed more than 800,000 leaflets on a wide range of topics for you to give to your patients, and continued our successful campaign to educate the public about what our members do. We also co-ordinated the sector response to the NHS England Call to Action through the Clinical Council for Eye Health Commissioning. The Call to Action offers the potential to make a difference and in our response we highlighted the structural changes needed to enable optometrists to provide additional services in a more accessible way for patients in England. All across the UK, eye health services are experiencing similar pressures. Primary eye care services have developed differently as the four countries have chosen to follow quite different policy paths in relation to health. We’re working with the optometry bodies in the devolved countries to gain a mutual understanding of what works well and what could be improved.

None of this would be possible without the dedication, commitment and hard work of our volunteers – our Board of Trustees, the members of the College’s Council, members of the other representative groups and committees that support us in our work, and the staff team that turns our ambitious plans into reality.

David Parkins, President

x2 ... we have doubled the number of our regional events for members

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FOCUS

... we develop plans that reflect your priorities as practitioners

A message for the public The College is a body dedicated to public benefit, both as a charity and as a professional body governed by a Royal Charter. Through our elected members on Council we develop plans which ensure that the College’s professional and strategic direction reflect practitioners’ clinical and career priorities, whilst ensuring that our plans are focused on enabling our members to give the very best care to their patients. Good, well informed, planning is essential and the College benefits hugely from the input of member representatives on Council and the Board of Trustees, members of our lay advisory panel and members of our patient reference group. My role is to oversee implementation of the plans,

creating a bridge between the governance role of the Board, the representative role of Council, and the staff team responsible for operational delivery. I believe that this report shows how well this structure works on behalf of the profession and the public and, like the President, I would like to express my sincere thanks to everyone who contributes to making the College such a successful and well respected organisation which says what it does, and does what it says.

Bryony Pawinska, Chief Executive

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14,328members

763pre-registration students sat the OSCEs – 500 first time

passes and 121 re-sit passes

Ophthalmic and Physiological Optics (OPO) 13th in top

international ophthalmology, optometry and vision

science journals

251,707people visited our website

20regional events

delivered

6new higher qualifications developed and released –

seven in total now available

3,240

Twitterfollowers

63peer discussion

facilitators accredited

800,000

patient leafletsdistributed

Our year at a glance

546pieces of national print,

broadcast and online coverage secured

2,336members attended

our events

£267,000of funding awarded to our

members through the College scholarships programme

811optometrists joined the

College

1,416

visitors to the College museum

new Life Fellows and three new Honorary Fellows appointed

optometrists qualified as Independent Prescribers

optometrists completed the Professional Certificate in Glaucoma

optometrists completed the Professional Certificate in Low Vision

optometric queries were handled by our professional and clinical advice team

389119122465

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Our aims as set out in our Royal Charter:

1 The improvement and conservation of human vision.

2 The advancement for the public benefit of the study of, and research into optometry and related subjects and the publication of the results thereof.

3 The promotion and improvement for the public benefit of the science and practice of optometry and related subjects.

4 The maintenance for the public benefit of the highest possible standards of professional competence and conduct.

Our strategic plan for 2011 – 2014 set out our work under four key themes

We want policy makers and the public to understand the role optometrists play in providing the nation’s eye care. We want membership of the College to be recognised as a guarantee of the best clinical and ethical standards from practitioners who put patients before anything else.

We’re working to raise standards of education and practice within optometry. We do this by providing the necessary evidence base and by supporting College members in their professional development – helping them to deliver the highest quality of eye care to the public.

Our vision

Our mission

Our vision, mission and aims

41 Supporting members and

engaging with all optometrists

2 Engaging with patients and the

public

4 Providing an evidence base for

good practice.

3 Working with others to influence the delivery of eye

care

Raising standards

.... by providing the necessary evidence base and by supporting College members in their professional development

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- A record 700 delegates attended Optometry Tomorrow

- 177 members and guests attended the new Research Excellence Lecture

- Delivered 20 regional events reaching 1,287 members

- Accredited two new course providers to run higher qualifications

- Developed and released three levels of higher qualifications in Medical Retina

- Developed and released two levels of higher qualifications in Contact Lens Practice

- OPO became the top optometry journal in contact lens practice and one of the most important international journals in ophthalmology and vision science, increasing its impact factor from 1.74 to 2.66

- Launched a new question bank for the Independent Prescribing Common Final Assessment

Supporting members andengaging with all optometrists

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“The events make me feel proud to be a member of the College! They are enjoyable and very informative evenings which have been helpful in my day-to-day work.”Nirmala Pankhania FCOptom

Our highlights

KEY THEMES

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The College encourages the highest standards of practice to ensure that the public and policy makers have confidence in the profession. By working with practising optometrists and encouraging them to become and remain our members, we can give practitioners the tools they need to develop professionally and to provide high quality care to their patients.

EventsThrough the College’s extensive programme of events we help members to develop their practice and deliver the best possible patient care. We know how highly our members value these events and, in response to demand, we’ve continued to expand the number – offering even more choice and giving members the chance to keep up-to-date, mix with fellow professionals and learn from experts. We’ve also changed the format of our events, for example introducing peer discussions for the first time, which have helped make them even more interactive.

Our brand new Research Excellence Lecture, celebrating major contributions to UK and international research, was also established this year.

Optometry Tomorrow (OT), our flagship annual conference, attracted a record number of delegates to York in March 2014. We also delivered our second ‘Bitesize,’ at Ascot Racecourse in early October 2014 following the success of the first Bitesize in Bristol in 2013. This one day programme brings highlights from the Optometry Tomorrow conference to the opposite end of the country.

Guidance for professional practiceRelevant and up-to-date guidance for professional practice is essential to support our members in using their professional judgement. Following extensive consultation with members, experts, patients and stakeholders, we launched, updated and revised the Guidance this year. Presented in a more accessible format with an online version with advanced search and a hard copy, it’s ideal for members to refer to quickly in a busy practice. An app will be launched early in 2015 to make it even easier to access.

Clinical adviceIn response to increasing demand for our clinical advice service we recruited an additional clinical adviser, to ensure that there is always someone on hand to assist members and offer support, advice and guidance. Our clinical advisers also produce new peer review case studies and ethical scenarios for our members to use.

“We’ve had a brilliant response to our updated Guidance - in the month since the re-launch we’ve seen record numbers accessing the new website - over 14,500 optometrists logged on, five times more than the previous month.”

Josephine Mullin, Director of Policy and Strategy, College of Optometrists

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Supporting members andengaging with all optometrists

KEY THEMES

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- Distributed more than 800,000 patient leaflets

- Distributed more than 9,754 tear-off pads

- A record 30,000 people accessed our public website LookAfterYourEyes.org

- 1,416 people visited the British Optical Association Museum housed in the College

- Averaged 46 pieces of coverage a month about eye care, eye health and optometry in the national, regional, trade, print and online media

Our highlights

Engaging with patientsand the public

“The College’s patient leaflets are excellent. My patients have said they are very easy to understand. I think they are well balanced and not too technical.”Asmaa Liaquat MCOptom

KEY THEMES

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Patients are at the heart of everything that our members do. We’re working hard to ensure the public understands the vital role optometrists play, and to assure them that our members offer the highest standard of care.

Increasing understanding about what optometrists doOur series of patient information leaflets are designed to help members provide practical advice and guidance to their patients, complementing the information given during the consultation. This year we’ve continued to develop our range of resources, distributing more than 800,000 patient leaflets, adding new leaflets to the series on presbyopia and ageing eyes and falls, and distributing 10,000 new tear-off pads on the instillation of eye drops. In line with member feedback and demand, we’re planning to produce more member-only patient resources in 2015.

Delivering media campaigns to promote optometry and good eye healthOur media campaigns have continued to deliver great results. Extensive coverage in the national and regional press, in glossy magazines and in broadcast media helps us to improve the public’s understanding of the importance of good eye health and the role of optometrists. One highlight included an interview with one of our optometric advisers on ITV’s This Morning, examining volunteer patients who hadn’t had a recent sight test and talking about the importance of regular check ups. This year we secured a total of 546 pieces of media coverage – a 33% increase on the year before.

Our patient website – LookAfterYourEyes.org has also continued to grow in popularity. The number of users has almost doubled over the last two years and the site is often featured in the media as a reliable source of information about eye health and eye conditions. Patients are also encouraged to use the site to search for their local College member.

This year we secured a total of 546 pieces of media coverage – a 33% increase on the year before.

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Engaging with patientsand the public

KEY THEMES

Our highlights

- Worked with key players in NHS England, allowing the College to influence the future shape of eye care services

- Held our third public health roundtable, looking at the data and IT structures required to ensure that eye care services meet the public health needs of the population

- Funded eight places on the Leeds ophthalmic public health module – helping members become public health ambassadors and increase the profile of eye health

- Published, with the Royal College of Ophthalmologists, new guidance designed to help busy commissioners

- Delivered a range of speeches on ways to improve eye care services in the new NHS

- Delivered a project on falls and vision which has led to falls teams better assessing vision and understanding when to refer patients to an optometrist

- Contributed to the debate about standards internationally by presenting at leading conferences

Working in partnership with others to influence the delivery of eye care

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“The College’s policy project on vision and falls is a great example of national work having a tangible local impact. You identified a gap in understanding, put the right people together for a national project and then made practical resources available for members to use locally.”Claire Roberts, MCOptom, Clinical Adviser for two Clinical Commissioning Groups and NHS England (Area Team).

KEY THEMES

It is important that we work with other stakeholders to ensure that the provision of eye care is in patients’ best interests. We’re working to support optometrists by influencing the policy debate about effective eye care in the four countries of the UK, in Europe and internationally.

This year we’ve successfully built relationships with key players in NHS England and worked collaboratively with others to ensure that issues affecting optometry and optometrists are well understood by decision makers and to find solutions to the challenges faced in providing eye care. For example, the College led a joint response to NHS England’s Improving eye health and reducing sight loss – “A Call to Action” on behalf of the Clinical Council for Eye Health Commissioning – a group of leading organisations from across the eye health sector, that have come together to offer united, evidence based clinical advice and guidance to those commissioning and delivering eye health services in England.

As a National Eye Health Week partner we worked closely with others in the sector to promote the importance of eye health and the need for regular eye checks. We also supported the Vision UK 2014 conference, an event bringing together the whole of the eye health and sight loss sector.

Contributing to the development of healthcare policy and standardsWe undertook a project to establish the current provision of vision checks by falls services - specialist teams who are dedicated to providing rehabilitation and guidance to prevent further falls. By talking to falls professionals across the UK, we gathered information in order to make recommendations about how falls teams can be supported in checking patients’ vision, and how we can encourage better connections between them and local optometrists.

To support members in their daily practice, we created a handy checklist for identifying and advising patients most at risk of a fall, a poster designed to raise patient awareness of the connection between falls and vision and we’re currently compiling a searchable directory of falls services. In addition to the tools for optometrists we’ve distributed a screening tool to falls teams across the UK, delivered a talk on the project at the National Optometric Conference and are collaborating with Carers UK to further raise awareness of the link between vision and falls.

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We supported the Vision UK 2014 conference, an event bringing together the whole of the eye health and sight loss sector.

Working in partnership with others to influence the delivery of eye care

KEY THEMES

Providing an evidence base for good practice

“College funding has brought great benefits to both my research field and to me personally - enabling me to set up my laboratory and ensuring my work continues to be recognised as central to glaucoma management.”Dr Tony Redmond, College-funded Research Fellow and Lecturer, Cardiff University

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Our highlights

- The introduction of the Collaborative Research Award and the Post Doctoral Research Award mean we now support all levels of university research

- We awarded the first Clinical Research Fellowship, supporting hospital researchers

- We awarded the President’s first Research Medal to internationally renowned Professor Larry Thibos, as well as further Research Excellence Awards for important achievements in research

- The part College-funded NICER study in Northern Ireland into refractive development in childhood and early adulthood is continuing to deliver significant results nationally and globally

- Our project evaluating the quality of online spectacles will complete in early 2015

- We completed the ‘UK contact lens practice for children and young people’ survey producing a briefing for members and a full report, delivering a paper in Optometry in Practice and making a series of presentations

- We started work on the College-led cross-sector Workforce survey, building a picture of current workforce levels and the issues that will impact on the workforce in the future

KEY THEMES

The College’s research work aims to provide an evidence base for good clinical practice. Having an evidence base allows us to make a greater contribution to government policies and to the design and delivery of eye care.

Our unique strategy has three key streams of activity: we provide funding for university research at all levels; offer expert advice, mentoring and grants to our members to help them to undertake practice-based research and we commission specific projects to inform College and national policy on all aspects of optometry and primary eye care services.

Seeing dementia more clearlyIn 2012 we were awarded a £450,000 grant by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) to work with others to investigate if people with dementia are getting the eye care they need. Dementia is thought to impact on 670,000 - 835,000 people in the UK, and this is the most extensive study of its kind. We have submitted our findings to NIHR and will be making them available through College member briefings and national conferences through the year.

Evaluating enhanced servicesOur Enhanced Scheme Evaluation Project (ESEP) is evaluating different community-based eye care service models. Working with a team from City University and Manchester Royal Eye Hospital, this project is helping us to understand how the way that services are organised can impact on clinical outcomes, patient experience and economic factors. The overall project is expected to complete early next year, and will produce a series of outputs. We’ve already published a qualitative study of medical professionals’ reasons for being involved in such schemes in the British Medical Journal, and we’re evaluating specific schemes, assessing them for effectiveness, reproducibility and value for money, and reviewing the current literature around enhanced schemes and their effectiveness when compared to more traditional models of care.

As NHS services continue to be under pressure to demonstrate efficiency savings and evidence based performance quality, it is important that we have evidence about the profession’s ability to deliver high quality care that strikes the right balance between cost effectiveness and patient experience.

“What really matters is making a clinical difference for patients. I’m delighted to be given this opportunity to share how this work is doing that and I’m proud to receive the College’s first President’s Research Medal on behalf of my many colleagues and students.” Professor Larry Thibos,

Emeritus Professor of Optometry, Indiana University

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Providing an evidence base for good practice

KEY THEMES

Representing members Our structure and governance

We’re governed by a Board of Trustees. The majority of Trustees are elected by the College’s Council of members. The Board, Council and other committees also include lay representatives to challenge the status quo and act as ‘critical friends’, ensuring the very highest standards of governance.

The Board has the legal and financial responsibility for the College and is made up of 10 optometrist members and two lay members. College Council is made up of 40 members and its role is to determine the strategic and professional direction of the College. Our members in the 12 different College regions of the UK elect 35 of the Council members, four are nominated by the College’s Lay Advisory Panel and one is nominated by the Optometry Schools Council.

Council members

East Midlands

Geraint Griffiths

Jane Macnaughton

Eastern

Parminder Randhawa

Daniel Hardiman-McCartney

Professor Peter Allen

(Trustee)

London

Dr Joy Myint

Kavi Kotecha

Krupa Patel

Sheetal Patel

David Parkins

(President and Trustee)

North East

Dr Anthony Gibson

Sarah Townsend

North West

Dr Cindy Tromans

(Chair of Board of Trustees

and Trustee)

Dr Gillian Rudduck

Neil Retallic

Northern Ireland

Dr Sara McCullough

Professor Kathryn Saunders

Lay members of Council

Andrew Kitchen (Co-opted Trustee)

John Thompson (Trustee)

Tony Cowburn

Optometry Schools Council (OSC) nominee

Dr James Gilchrist

Scotland

Hal Rollason

Ian Jarvis

Johnathan Waugh

South East

Colin Davidson (Trustee)

Dr Kamlesh Chauhan

(Immediate Past President

and Trustee)

Rasmeet Chadha (Trustee)

Sanjay Patel (Trustee)

South West

Kiki Soteri

Adam Wannell

Sarah Farrant

Wales

Lisa Gerson

Dr Mary-Ann Sherratt

(Vice President and Trustee)

West Midlands

Dr Rob Hogan

(Treasurer and Trustee)

Francesca Marchetti

Shamina Asif

Yorkshire and Humber

Omar Hassan

Professor Edward Mallen

(Trustee)

Barbara Watson

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Scotland

Northern IrelandNorth East

Yorkshire and Humber

East Midlands

West Midlands

Eastern

Wales

London

South West

South East

North West

Rental income & service charges

Bank interest

Investment income

Research

Gains on investment assets

Continuing education & training

Education & pre-registration

Membership

Fixed assets

Tangible fixed assets

Investments

Current assets

Debtors

Short term deposits

Cash at bank and in hand

Liabilities

Creditors due within one year

Net current (liabilities)/assets

Net assets

Funds

Restricted funds

Research Fund

DOCET & PrOVIDe

Unrestricted funds

Designated funds

General funds

Total charity funds

The College 2014

£

2,498,952

6,125,526

8,624,478

1,356,161

500

594,772

1,951,433

2,002,688

(51,255)

8,573,223

1,834,361

444,946

2,771,656

3,522,260

8,573,223

Investment management fees

Governance costs

Research

Continuing education & training

Professional conduct & standards

Membership

Education & pre-registration

£6,290

£7,501

£160,937

£126,344

£408,791

£647,941

£2,809,043

£3,108,920

How we invested your money

Income Balance sheet

Expenditure

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£44,100

£146,198

£269,653

£545,560

£571,292

£2,702,570

£2,774,412

Total income £6,834,786

Total expenditure £7,494,766

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Our strategic plan 2014 to 2017

Our new strategic objectives

Our new three year strategic plan, developed with input from Council members, reflects external factors that will impact on the College over the next few years, and sets out a series of ambitious goals that aim to shape the future of optometry and offer increased support for College members.

We’re working to raise standards of optometric education and practice by providing the necessary evidence base and by supporting our members in their professional development so that they deliver the highest quality of eye care for the benefit of the public.

1

2

3

4

To ensure that College membership is valuable to optometrists and an asset to their employers

To provide and promote high quality services and support for members to develop their individual clinical practice

To make people aware that they should look after their eyes and of the important role optometrists play in maintaining or improving sight

To influence policy and decision makers in health care delivery in the UK countries by showing how optometrists can improve the quality of eye care

“Good, well informed, planning is essential and the College benefits hugely from the input of member representatives on Council and the Board, members of our Lay Advisory Panel and our patient reference group.” Bryony Pawinska, Chief Executive

Where we want to get to

42 Craven StreetLondonWC2N 5NG

Telephone: 020 7839 6000Fax: 020 7839 6800info@college-optometrists.orgwww.twitter.com/CollegeOptomUKwww.college-optometrists.org

If you would like a copy of this information in large print, or want to talk about any of it, please e-mail info@college-optometrists.org

Corporate member of Plain English Campaign

Charity number 1060431Published February 2015