Trust publishes business plan

The Eyecare Trust has published a business plan outlining its vision for the future. The three-year plan contains strategies to help deliver a higher profile for eye health, regular eye examinations and good eye care as part of the wider public health agenda.

Going forward the Trust will focus on six key thematic priorities – communication, the profession, administration and organisation, involvement, research and funding – as it aims to transform attitudes towards eye care through better public understanding of the benefits of caring for our eyes and the impact that poor vision can have on our social and physical well-being.

Goals set out in the business plan include:

• Positioning the eye examination as a primary health check and increasing the percentage of the population visiting their optometrist for regular eye examinations by ten per cent over the next three years.

• Increasing the number of people visiting their optometrist for advice when they have an eye complaint or visual problem - currently most people would visit their GP (46 per cent) or pharmacist (35 per cent) before consulting their optometrist (10 per cent).

• Increasing the reach of the Trust's public information campaigns by 25 per cent between 2007 – 2010.

• Strengthening the Trust's portfolio of practitioner resources with a range of timely and relevant promotional material and literature designed to help support and enhance patient care and assist in the promotion of eye health issues within the practitioner's local community.

Iain Anderson, Chairman of the Trust comments: "The plan has been designed to act as a framework for working with, and on behalf of the ophthalmic industry, to bring about a positive change to government policy and public attitudes and behaviour in pursuit of accessible and well-subscribed eye care for all."

Click here to download a pdf version of the plan.