Underpinning these are four foundational elements: the College’s members, values, people and resources.
What stands out for me is the way the strategy both builds on the recent past and anticipates future challenges. Our previous strategy, which focused on defining excellence in optometry, enabling optometrists to maximise their skills, representing their voice and embedding evidence in the profession, was delivered through the difficult COVID-19 era. The new strategy deliberately shifts into a more expansive role, positioning optometry not just as a profession but as an integral part of the broader healthcare ecosystem.
Translating ambition into action will not be straightforward. The profession faces constraints: distribution of workforce, unequal service commissioning across the UK, technological change and funding models that have historically undervalued primary eye care. We have demonstrated that that up to 70% of eye-related A&E cases could be handled in primary care by optometrists, yet commissioning, digital connections and funding remain barriers in England and Northern Ireland.
The strategy is timely. As the eye care landscape evolves, with ageing populations, accelerated digitalisation and shifts in patient expectations, the College’s five-year horizon positions it to influence not just the profession but the healthcare systems and the public. If optometrists are to become the “first port of call” for eye care across the UK (as the strategy states), we need to push for more primary eye care services and better public awareness. We know that the world, and our profession, moves at pace, with ever-changing technological, societal and personal needs. Over the next five years, we will build on our successes, innovations and partnerships.
The College 2025–30 strategic plan is a bold statement of intent. It recognises that the profession must evolve in education, in service delivery, in public-facing roles and in health-system integration if it is to fulfil its purpose of eliminating preventable sight loss. Success will depend on the profession working in partnership with other healthcare professionals, commissioners and technology providers, securing the resources, training and pathway design needed, and raising public awareness so that optometry becomes a key pillar of national eye health.
