Investment in the community eye workforce is vital to meet patient need, notes Specsavers 2026 Access to care report.
Devolved nations show path for England on community eye care access
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are providing invaluable examples of how to make fuller use of community optometry – that England can draw upon, according to Specsavers 2026 access to care report.
Expanding community eye and hearing care would improve access to care – AND save the UK £2.91bn a year by 2040
Greater use of community eye and hearing care services could save the UK £2.91 billion annually by 2040, a sum equivalent to the cost of 70 million GP appointments, according to a new report.
Specsavers proudly sponsors Visionary Eye Health Award 2026
Specsavers is again sponsoring the Eye Health Award at the Visionary Annual Awards 2026, which recognises the sight loss organisations improving eye health and transforming lives in communities across the UK. The award celebrates initiatives making a positive difference for blind and partially sighted people that combine effective services, fresh thinking and collaboration to respond to an identified eye health …
Award-winning Newport optician inspired by children seeing clearly first time
A Newport optician recognised with a 2026 Dame Mary Perkins Award says helping young children see clearly for the first time remains the most rewarding part of her role.
Taking dispensing beyond the practice into domiciliary care
For Hannah Yeoman, dispensing optician director at Specsavers Home Visits Aberdeen, and Laura Owens, dispensing optician director at Specsavers Home Visits Edinburgh, some of the most rewarding work happens in patients’ homes.
Angela Dawson career story
A professional dispensing qualification gained at 21 has underpinned Angela Dawson’s rise from optical assistant to director of NHS operations at Specsavers. Read her story.
100 years of the dispensing profession celebrated at PAC 2026
100 years of the dispensing profession Specsavers PAC 2026 will celebrate the centenary of the dispensing profession with a dedicated programme recognising the contribution dispensing opticians have made to eye care over the last 100 years. The celebration at Specsavers’ flagship professional development conference takes place at Birmingham’s International Convention Centre on 13 September 2026. ‘Celebrating 100 years of the …
Princess Royal honour for Specsavers training programme
Thousands of people have enrolled in the Specsavers Cert 3 programme since its relaunch in 2023. The qualification has now received a Princess Royal Training Award, recognising its contribution to learning, skills development and career progression in optics.
PAC 2026 – Audiology keynote speakers announced
Professor Gaby Saunders, Director of the Manchester Centre for Audiology and Deafness (ManCAD) and a leading expert in hearing health and rehabilitation, will deliver the opening audiology keynote at this year’s Specsavers Professional Advancement Conference (PAC) on Sunday 13 September.
Registration is now live for PAC, one of the UK’s largest conference for audiology clinicians. Returning to Birmingham’s International Convention Centre (ICC), PAC is open to everyone working in audiology, regardless of employer or qualification.