Association of British Dispensing Opticians: Raising the Profile of the Eye Care Sector

LONDON, April 10, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --



ITN Productions and the Association of British Dispensing Opticians joined forces to create a dedicated news programme called EYE TV News that premiered at this year's ABDO Conference and Exhibition. The aim is to develop eye health services and within that, promote the benefits of professional eye care. As ABDO general secretary, Sir Tony Garrett, expresses: "2 million people in the country are blind and a million of those cases were preventable." The news programme will provide a unified voice for the sector and allow the industry to better communicate the vital role that opticians play in public health.

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The programme covers the latest topics in eye care, reveals innovative technologies, and features leadership interviews and professional comments: 

• ABDO highlight the importance of clear eyesight for children's development and learning.
• ABDO College showcases how they are training the next generation of dispensing opticians to adapt to a changing sector.
• An interview with low vision expert Jennifer Brower discusses how she's helping those with the condition.
• Peter Black, ABDO President urging regular eye health checks for children. He also outlines the valuable role and complex requirements of a dispensing optician.
• Professor Mo Jalie talks about the latest developments in eye health,
• BBR's Managing Director Nick Rumney discusses the scope of practice in eye health and the changing role of optometrists.
• Professor Darren Shickle discusses awareness and the relationship between public health and eye health.
• There are exciting developments in contact lenses, according to Angela McNamee and Keith Cavaye.
• Driving footfall and being competitive are the key for independent opticians, says Paul Surridge.
• According to Tony Garrett more needs to be done to look at preventing blindness in the community.
• Eye tests can reveal much more about your health, and save lives, according to Jo Holmes.

To see the rest of the programme and more exclusive content from the industry's leading organisations, including highlights from ABDO 2014 conference, please visit the ITN Healthcare News channel.

If you missed EYE TV News that premiered at the 2014 ABDO conference, please visit our Healthcare News site for the following reports from leaders in the field: 

• Alcon is the eye care division of the pharmaceutical giant Novartis, which is investing £4 billion pounds in R&D over the next five years.
• Bradford College is an outstanding provider of industry tailored training for the eye health sector which is celebrating the past 60 years in providing the best ophthalmic dispensing training in the north of England.
• CooperVision is one of the world's leading manufacturers of contact lenses and their mission is to support the practitioners with awareness campaigns and business support programmes that focus on patient retention and loyalty.
• Essilor showcases their latest 'Prevencia' coated lenses that protect patients from harmful blue light from laptops, computers, mobile devices and energy saving light bulbs.
• The  Fife Society for the Blind are experts in visual loss and they are using their expertise to help people in the local area lead higher quality lives due to training, products and the services they offer.
• Kirk Originals is making a fresh new move on the market as a genuine British brand offering glasses that are true luxury accessories, expertly designed and hand-crafted by real craftspeople who have worked their way to the pinnacle of their profession.
• London Eye Hospital Pharma is introducing new technologies to the UK and to the world, like the Light Adjustable Lens, diabetic Retinal Rejuvenation Therapy and Femto laser cataract surgery - which creates a 3D micron-level scan of the eye then dissolves the cataract in just 30 seconds, without blades or stitches.
• Moorfields Pharmaceuticals is educating the general public, opticians and the CCGs on the benefits of early detection and treatment of dry eye.
• Independent opticians often struggle to keep up with large chains if they allow their computer systems to fall behind the rest of the market. In response, optical retail software developer, Ocuco is offering innovative technology and a suite of competitive tools that enables customers to retain their patients and grow their market share.
• It is Silhouette's 50th anniversary, and with that milestone it's time to work towards the next shift in eyewear fashion.
• TopCon is taking leaps in technology from existing fundus camera technology that demonstrates how health problems (not just those of the eye) can be detected.
• TRB Chemedica is educating opticians on dry-eye to raise awareness of VISMED eye drops, which offer relief from the discomfort caused by dry-eye. Many people suffering with dry-eye find themselves waiting long periods of time for treatment as the condition is not always fully understood by GPs.

About Healthcare News: Healthcare News is the latest industry-specific channel from ITN Productions' corporate production team, which works with trade bodies and associations to deliver high-quality news programming for individual vertical business sectors, producing videos about key industry topics, sharing best practice and updating on industry developments.

About ITN Productions: ITN Productions is ITN's central creative hub producing content for major global brands in the broadcast, online, mobile and corporate sectors.

About the Association of British Dispensing Opticians (ABDO): The ABDO Annual Conference and Exhibition took place on the 30^th and 31^st March 2014 at the Chesford Grange Hotel, Kenilworth. ABDO is the main professional association for opticians in the UK which represents over 5,700 qualified dispensing opticians in the UK.

To learn more about the programme productions and/or enquire about ABDO please get in touch: 

Healthcare News enquiries:
Duncan Gunstone
Head of Industry News
ITN Productions
Tel: +44(0)207-430-4546
Email: [email protected]

For media enquiries about the ABDO conference please contact:
Michael R Potter FBDO
Head of Marketing and Communications
Association of British Dispensing Opticians
Telephone: +44(0)1227-733-913
Email: [email protected]

SOURCE ITN Productions