With extensive press coverage of the impact of digitisation and artificial intelligence on healthcare provision, I’d like to welcome you to this digital summer issue of Acuity.

As ever, I like to keep readers up to date with some of the many opportunities I have had to assert optometry’s role as a vital healthcare provider. In addition to an invited presentation during the President’s session at the Royal College of Ophthalmologists congress in Birmingham, I was invited by Marsha de Cordova MP to speak at the meeting of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Eye Health and Visual Impairment on the topic of workforce. Along with other sector partners, these were excellent platforms to showcase the College’s Workforce Vision and increase the recognition of optometrists as key healthcare professionals in multidisciplinary teams.

A central pillar of our Workforce Vision is to champion and enable optometrists to take the lead in clinical research. With this in mind, our article sees Professor Bruce Evans FCOptom, one of the UK’s leading exponents of clinical research, chart his role in building optometry’s evidence base through research in areas such as optometric factors in dyslexia, myopia management and binocular vision. Reflecting on his illustrious career, his advice for others is to adopt a long-term career strategy, with re-evaluation points every five years. 

With UK online eyewear sales expected to grow by 6% in 2023 (Euromonitor International, 2023 ), research by the College revealed that 89% of College members thought legislation regarding the sale of optical appliances was necessary to protect consumers. Our article offers insights from leading clinicians on the impact of online sales and how practice-based clinicians can provide a competitive, value-added service for in-person dispensing.  

Finally, another article profiles Dr Neil Handley, our British Optical Association Museum Curator, who recalls his 25-year career at the College. From humble beginnings as the Museum’s Documentation Assistant, Neil now presides over an eclectic mix of ophthalmic items that attract hundreds of visitors to the College each year.

I hope readers enjoy the range of digital articles found in this issue and that you will all be able to take a break from the day job to spend quality time with family and friends over the summer.

Image credit | Sam Kerr