Expanding access to eye care for people experiencing homelessness: how partnership can reduce health inequality
Access to eye care plays a vital role in people’s health, independence and ability to engage with everyday life.
For people experiencing homelessness, however, sight tests and treatment are often difficult to access, contributing to wider health inequalities and avoidable deterioration in vision.
That is why the long standing partnership between Specsavers and Vision Care has become an important example of how collaboration between healthcare providers and charities can remove barriers and deliver care where it is most needed. The partnership has now been recognised as a finalist in the Third Sector Business Charity Awards, which celebrate impactful collaborations that help change lives.
Improving access to eye care
Vision Care is a UK charity that focuses on improving access to eye care for people experiencing homelessness. Over time, its relationship with Specsavers has developed from philanthropic support into a strategic, multi‑year partnership focused on long‑term impact.
‘Vision Care is an incredible charity that advocates for people experiencing homelessness, removes barriers to access for eye care and delivers those crucial services,’ says Jo Osborne, Corporate Social Responsibility Lead at Specsavers. ‘Our relationship has grown into a long‑term collaboration with the shared goal of improving access and changing lives, as experts who care.’
Delivering eye care
A key focus of the partnership has been bringing accessible eye care services to people.
Specsavers has supported the expansion of Vision Care’s staffing, invested in clinical infrastructure and IT, and helped equip new clinics in community hubs such as Crisis Skylights. These locations are already trusted by people experiencing homelessness, helping to reduce anxiety, missed appointments and disengagement from care.
The partnership also supported the creation of a national Experts by Experience panel, ensuring that people with lived experience of homelessness helped shape service design and delivery.
Hannah Telfer, chief executive of Vision Care, says: ‘Through our partnership with Specsavers, Vision Care has been able to reach thousands more people affected by homelessness and highlight the unacceptable reality that access to eye care is still out of reach for many.
‘Housing insecurity should never come at the expense of someone’s eye health. Together, and alongside colleagues across the optical sector, we are determined to remove these barriers and ensure everyone has access to the care they deserve.’
Innovation that supports access and continuity
Beyond fixed clinics, the collaboration has enabled domiciliary eye care services, reaching people who are unable to attend community locations. It has also contributed to national policy discussions focused on reducing barriers to NHS sight tests for vulnerable groups.
‘The partnership has delivered additional clinics, piloted new models of care and contributed to policy conversations about access,’ says Ms Osborne. ‘Thousands of people have received eye care as a result.’
Recognising the people behind the impact
The work has also led to Specsavers’ homelessness programme team being shortlisted for CSR Team of the Year at the Third Sector Business Charity Awards, recognising the collective effort behind the programme.
‘I want to thank the hundreds of Specsavers colleagues involved,’ adds Ms Osborne. ‘From clinicians who volunteer their time, to charity partners on the ground, to colleagues behind the scenes who make the services possible. This recognition belongs to everyone.’
Why this work matters
For Specsavers, the partnership with Vision Care demonstrates how clinical expertise, national scale and local presence can be used to address health inequalities and support people who are often excluded from mainstream healthcare.
‘Being shortlisted for these awards shows what can be achieved when organisations work together with a shared purpose,’ says Ms Osborne. ‘As experts who care, we have an opportunity – and a responsibility – to make a meaningful difference in our communities.’
The winners of the Third Sector Business Charity Awards will be announced later this week.