Regional lead update: Midlands and East of England

Polarised lenses are a clinical recommendation

In the Midlands and East of England, I’ve been linking up with local optical committees (LOCs) to share ABDO updates. It’s AGM season, so if you’d like to get involved locally, now’s a great time to join your LOC and have your say.

NHS England is reshaping integrated care boards (ICBs) across the country, and in my region 12 ICB areas have been reduced to six. This means new committees, new commissioning groups and, potentially, big changes. You may also see updates to NHS England GOS contract support, so keep an eye out for ICB correspondence. If you’d like details for your LOC, check their website or get in touch with me and I’ll point you in the right direction.

Improving quality of life

Spring has well and truly arrived in Bedfordshire, and we have been fortunate enough to enjoy an unusually warm and sunny stretch of weather. It has made polarised lenses a surprisingly timely topic – because while Bedfordshire might be the last place that springs to mind when you think of glare and reflective light (being, after all, a doubly landlocked county), the demand is very much there. We have a wonderfully enthusiastic local fishing community, and in our household, the runners more than make up for the lack of coastline. Trust me, low morning sun on a country road at Parkrun pace is no joke.

It is a good reminder that polarised lenses are not purely a seaside or ski-slope conversation. The lifestyle questions we ask in practice reveal just how many of our patients could genuinely benefit – they simply may not know it yet. That is where we come in.

Polarised lenses are one of the clearest examples of optical technology that genuinely improves the patient’s quality of life – yet in many practices, they remain an upsell rather than a clinical recommendation. That distinction matters. Positioning polarised lenses as a premium add-on leaves the decision to the patient’s budget. Positioning them as the appropriate choice for certain visual needs means doing our job as eyecare professionals.

Standard tinted lenses simply reduce the overall amount of light reaching the eye. Polarised lenses do something fundamentally different: they selectively block horizontally oriented light waves – the specific component responsible for glare reflected from water, wet roads, snow and glass. The result is cleaner, more comfortable vision with significantly reduced visual fatigue.

For patients who drive regularly, spend time near water, ski or work outdoors, the difference is substantial. Chronic exposure to reflected glare is also worth raising with patients who have early macular changes, or a history of significant UV exposure.

The typical sunglass conversation follows a familiar pattern: the patient browses the display and is asked whether they would like polarised. That question, however well-intentioned, transfers clinical decision making to someone who may not understand what polarisation means or why it matters.

A more effective approach leads with lifestyle. A few targeted questions change everything: do they drive in low sun or on wet roads?; do they holiday near water or snow?; do they find bright conditions fatiguing? In most cases, the answers point naturally toward polarised lenses – not as an optional extra, but as the most appropriate choice.

Polarised lenses are not right for everyone. Pilots should avoid them due to interference with cockpit instruments and LCD displays. Frequent smartphone users may notice screen interference outdoors, and skiers should be aware that polarisation can reduce visibility of icy patches by removing glare cues. Being upfront about these exceptions builds credibility. A practitioner who knows when polarisation is, and is not, appropriate is far more trusted than one who promotes it universally.

One final thought

At a time when the profession is navigating significant system and policy change, it is also important to stay focused on the day-to-day opportunities to improve patient care. Polarised lenses are a simple but powerful example of how dispensing expertise can make a meaningful difference – not as a sales tool, but as informed clinical advice that supports better visual outcomes.

Laura Hing FBDO co-owns an independent, family-run practice alongside her optometrist husband, and is chair of Bedfordshire LOC. Email lhing@abdo.org.uk