Specsavers at 100% Optical - CPD, awards and announcements

Specsavers stand at 100% Optical
You couldn't miss Specsavers at 100% Optical - the UK’s leading annual event for optical professionals held at Excel London, 28 February - 2 March.  

With multiple CPD sessions, recruitment and partnership opportunities for those seeking new Optom and Dispensing Optician roles and main stage presentations there was plenty to learn, share and celebrate.

Day one: Optical Women's Association launches two new Awards in Dame Mary’s honour

There was a standout moment when Dame Mary Perkins took to the catwalk stage to recognise leaders who not only excel in their own careers, but open doors for others across the industry.

After taking part in a female leadership panel discussion, Dame Mary presented two new Optical Women's Association awards created in her honour:

The Leadership Recognition Award - winner Fiona Anderson
The Emerging Leader Award - winner Kupra Mistry.

With more than 3,000 female optometrists, 682 female pre‑reg students, 1,682 women with dispensing qualifications, and 930 female partners across Specsavers, this was a powerful reminder of the achievement of women driving the future of optics.

Dame Mary, Jayne Abel, Caroline Casey
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Day two: Groundbreaking AI eye health partnership with Specsavers and Cascader

Specsavers and medical technology company Cascader announced a new partnership from the main stage that aims to harness innovative artificial intelligence technology to support clinicians and improve patient outcomes.

Cascader, a medical AI firm building on work at Moorfields Eye Hospital and UCL, is collaborating with Specsavers to find the most effective ways to implement cutting-edge AI into optometry.

Giles Edmonds, clinical services director at Specsavers, says: ‘By working together as a sector can we meet the eye health challenges we face such as the glaucoma tsunami with cases predicted to rise as the population ages.'

Dr Peter Thomas, CEO of Cascader and ophthalmologist, says: ‘We’re excited to announce a partnership between Cascader and Specsavers. We see huge potential for AI to support earlier detection, screening and proactive management driven by systemic health insights from optometry consultations, images and data. Working with Specsavers helps us to better understand how to deploy this kind of technology far and wide, in the UK and beyond.’

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CPD and discussion workshops

It was standing room only for many of our CPD sessions, with the most popular topics repeated again over the weekend. Specsavers CPD on offer covered:

  • Visual recognition test and discussion: The fundus refocussed - an update on diabetic retinopathy screening and other conditions detected with retinal photography

  • Lecture with discussion workshop: The yellow brick road to glaucoma higher qualifications

  • Discussion workshop: Changing lives through dual wear

  • Discussion workshop: Embracing presbyopia

  • Peer review: Look after yourself to better eye health

  • Discussion workshop: Ophthalmic OMGs - managing urgent eye conditions in practice

  • Peer review: Vision for the future - sustainability in optical practice

 

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