OS launches eyecare manifesto
Three key priorities published
Optometry Scotland (OS) has launched its 2026 manifesto, Community Optometry: A Sustainable Solution for Eye Care, setting out a clear vision for the future of eye health in Scotland ahead of next year’s Scottish elections.
Endorsed by ABDO, the Association of Optometrists, the College of Optometrists, and FODO – the Association for Eye Care Providers, the manifesto calls on all political parties to commit to three priorities: safeguard universal eyecare access; strengthen community-based NHS services; and invest in the workforce and infrastructure needed to deliver high-quality care closer to home.
Scotland is the only UK nation to offer universal access to NHS-funded eyecare. In 2024/25, more than 2.44 million NHS-funded eye examinations were carried out across the country. However, OS warns that “without continued investment and reform, this world-leading model risks falling behind clinical and demographic needs”.
Eilidh Thomson, OS chair, said: “Community optometry is one of Scotland’s greatest NHS success stories. Every day, optometrists and dispensing opticians deliver trusted, preventative care in both urban and rural areas, detecting and managing disease, protecting sight, reducing pressure on hospitals and ensuring patients receive the highest standards of care, as close to home as possible.
Eilidh Thomson, chair of Optometry Scotland
“With the right commitment, Scotland can continue to lead the UK in eye health. Our manifesto shows how partnership and investment in community-based care will protect sight, strengthen the workforce and support the Government’s ambition to shift the focus of care from acute to community settings.”
The Scottish government has “recognised the importance of investing in primary care to build capacity, improve access and deliver more care safely in the community,” said the organisation – adding “OS’s manifesto demonstrates how community optometry already delivers on that ambition, from managing eye disease locally to preventing avoidable sight loss, and how it can go further with sustained support for General Ophthalmic Services (GOS), workforce development and local service expansion”.
The manifesto outlines three key priorities:
1. Protect sight. Prevent blindness. Deliver universal access.
2. Shift the balance of care. Invest in local, enhanced services.
3. Secure the workforce and infrastructure.
Eilidh added: “Scotland’s optometry workforce is already delivering world-class care. With proper support, we can do even more to prevent avoidable sight loss, strengthen the NHS and ensure that everyone, regardless of economic background or geographic location, has access to high-quality, local eyecare. Our manifesto aligns closely with the Scottish government’s vision of care delivered closer to home, boosting capacity, improving access and ensuring that community optometry remains a cornerstone of Scotland’s NHS.”