UK Eye Care Data Hub: forecasting eye health & workforce needs

Welcome to the UK Eye Care Data Hub. This dashboard has been developed to estimate the current eye care workforce and eye disease prevalence or incidence, and to model future trends over time.

This vital insight is essential for:

Commissioners of eye care services across the UK to understand the needs of the patients and their current and future resources to meet those needs
Optometrists and other eye care professionals to see where there may be opportunities for using their expertise
Employers and commissioners to identify priorities for future workforce education, training and development

The College of Optometrists has led a sector-wide and UK-wide, multi-professional eye care workforce supply and demand data modelling project, called the UK Eye Care Data Hub.

This hub has been developed to estimate the current eye care workforce and eye disease prevalence or incidence, and to model future trends over time. It has been designed primarily to support commissioners and designers of eye care services in each of the four UK nations to identify future population eye care needs and optimise the existing eye care workforce.

This knowledge should help health services to:

better meet eye health needs
identify priorities for future workforce education, training and development
support the development of new models of care

The data is also helpful for practitioners in the eye care sector to:

identify where you and your qualifications are best valued to meet patient needs
support you in conversations with providers of eye care services in your area to address local requirements or request support for furthering your scope of practice
provide nationwide data to support research projects

UK Eye Care Data Hub - FAQs

We answer some of your most frequently asked questions on the forecasting tool.

UK Eye Care Data Hub news and updates

Get the latest UK Eye Care Data Hub news and updates when available.

Advisory group

An Advisory Group consisting of both project funders and other stakeholders in the eye care sector was established to advise and steer the project, and provide access to data:

Association of British Dispensing Opticians
Association of Optometrists
British & Irish Orthoptic Society
Department of Health Northern Ireland
Federation of Optometrists and Dispensing Opticians
General Optical Council
Health Education and Improvement Wales
Local Optical Committee Support Unit
NHS England
Royal College of Nursing
The College of Optometrists
The Royal College of Ophthalmologists
Royal National Institute of Blind People
Scottish Government
Welsh Government

Additional information

The tool has been developed by York Health Economics Consortium (YHEC).

Prevalence and incidence data was initially identified by 16 expert working groups convened by The Royal College of Ophthalmologists. These expert groups identified data based on literature reviews and expert opinion. Building on this work, additional eye conditions have been added to the Hub where there is good quality published prevalence or incidence from studies that are relevant to the UK population.

Workforce data at health board and ICS level is an estimate, modelled and based on regional or national datasets and populations. There are no available data models for some professions or professional qualifications at ICS or Health Board level due to very small numbers. If users have accurate workforce data at ICS or Health Board level, please contact policy@college-optometrists.org.uk so the data can be included in the model.

We have updated our Privacy and cookies policy

The College has updated its Privacy and cookies policy to reflect recent changes in data protection legislation. This includes the UK General Data Protection Regulation, the Data Protection Act 2018, and the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025, which came into force earlier this year.

New funding to extend SPOKE programme and inspire the next generation of eye care professionals

The Sector Partnership for Optical Knowledge and Education (SPOKE) has secured funding from the Central Optical Fund. This is to expand its work with a new 18-month project to inspire an early interest in careers in eye care among primary and secondary school pupils.

Nominations open for The College of Optometrists’ Research Excellence Awards

The College of Optometrists is inviting members and non-members to nominate outstanding researchers for the annual Research Excellence Awards in recognition of those making a significant contribution to optometric research and the future of the profession.

More than 500 optometry students begin Clinical Learning in Practice roles this July

This July, The College of Optometrists will welcome more than 500 optometry students across the UK to their Clinical Learning in Practice (CLiP) roles, marking the largest intake yet into the profession’s new integrated work-based learning programme.

UK eye care data hub