Region update

Like a pebble in a pond

Like many, I have been keeping myself busy

whilst furloughed – finding new pathways and challenges. Finding a new pathway is a skill and takes hard work – learning, engaging and networking. The best pathways are those that facilitate partnership and collaboration, where you can leverage maximum mutual benefit. Enter National Eye Health Week (NEHW).

NEHW is a collaboration supported by ABDO, the Association of Optometrists, the Federation of Ophthalmic and Dispensing Opticians and the College of Optometrists. My fellow London local lead, Ian Anderson, is a trustee of the charity Eye Health UK, which organises the week, and represents ABDO’s interests with the annual campaign. NEHW particularly piqued my interest this year, as I thought of all those people who had put off an eye examination or visit to hospital during the first lockdown. Covid-19 infographic supporting NEHW SPEAKING MY LANGUAGE committee members took to the airwaves delivering key We face an avalanche of sight loss as people continue to eye health messages to South Asian community groups in remain at home, due to a lack of knowledge and awareness English, Gujarati and Hindi – and during Zoom meetings. of why the eye exam is so vital to the early detection of eye This meant brushing up on my Gujarati skills and conditions, and of the support available. People from BAME engaging in a different way, but with the support of (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic) backgrounds and those Bhavini Makwana, co-chair, and Subhash Suthar and Ballu with learning disabilities are particularly vulnerable – so I was Patel from the Royal National Institute of Blind People, we particularly interested when I saw a group on LinkedIn called had great engagement – with Bolton Hindu Forum Radio Covid-19 Infographics looking for health ambassadors. reaching an audience of 36,000 listeners worldwide.

This is a group of doctors, medical students and Topics raised included eye drops, dry eye, cancelled volunteers who have created infographics, providing appointments for cataracts, and NHS sight test eligibility communities with reliable, easy-to-read resources about criteria; one listener didn’t know that eye exams were free Covid-19 in 35+ languages. Producing resources, including for under 16s while another didn’t realise the importance of advice about face coverings, migrants’ rights and more, going for an eye exam when a close family member had they work closely with organisations such as councils, GP glaucoma. It just showed the huge impact that can be made practices, refugee centres, cultural schools and foodbanks. by simply delivering messages in a person’s mother tongue.

Subhash Suthar from Glaucoma UK and I decided to Two other members of the committee are Lance reach out to this group and work with co-founders, Shiron Campbell and Hamaira Ashraf-Haroon, SeeAbility Rajendran, Venughanan Manikavasagar and optometrist eyecare champions for London and the north west Pirakalai Manikavasagar. Together, we produced four respectively. They were recently involved in producing a infographics, liaising with Rachel Robson of NEHW website, YouTube video titled, ‘We can help you. Looking after Vision Matters, to provide a base for our resources: Eye your eyes’, aimed at people with learning disabilities and Health and Covid-19; Mythbusters about eye health; Eye their carers. SeeAbility also has free resources for health advice; and The eye test: eligibility. The infographics eyecare professionals to help support any patients with are available in English, Arabic Traditional Chinese French, learning disabilities, available at www.seeability.org Hindi, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, Each touchpoint should be a pebble in a pond, rippling Swahili Tamil Turkish and Vietnamese. out and bringing you into contact with more people and

Around this time, the first BAME Vision Committee possibilities. If you are on a new pathway, continuing to meeting was due to take place under the umbrella of make a difference to people’s lives, and are looking for cross-sector charity, Vision UK, which has worked to support, please don’t hesitate to contact myself, Abi deliver positive change for blind and partially sighted Page, ABDO London lead, or fellow local leads, Natasha people through partnerships across the eye health and Wood and Ian Anderson. We are all here to support you optical sector. Unfortunately, the charity has been and understand the challenges you may be facing. wound up as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. importance of eye and general health. For NEHW 2020, four

The BAME Vision Committee has continued, however, JAYSHREE VASANI FBDO is an ABDO local lead engaging with local BAME communities to highlight the for London.