Sign up for March Induction Course, LOCSU Annual Report published, MECS on TV news, thumbs up for new LOC recruitment video, what the NHS Long Term Plan means for optics, Leadership Skills candidates announced, sight loss tool updated and help to plan a successful AGM in latest edition of LOCSU News.
Welcome to the latest edition of LOCSU News. The NOC normally brings a cadre of new recruits to Local Optical Committees. At LOCSU, the early part of the year is geared up to help LOCs deal with this. With AGMs and the prospect of new offices on the horizon, our Induction Course will take place in March with another in June. Make sure your new members sign up for this excellent course. It gives new members and those who want to brush up their knoweldge a fantastic grounding in the workings of the LOC and NHS Commissioning as well as one-to-one access to the combined insight of optical leaders and the Commissioning Team.
LOC members are invited to apply for the next LOC Facilitated Induction Course starting on 4 March. The course is aimed at new LOC members but is open to all those who want to update their knowledge and brush up on their skills.
The four-week facilitated course takes around two to three hours a week to complete the reading and the activities. It means that participants can dip in and out and cover the bite-sized topics at their own pace.
The course covers LOC functions and governance, an overview of the national optical bodies, how NHS commissioning is organised and effective LOC communications.
In order to register for this programme, delegates need to email us at info@locsu.co.uk providing their name, LOC and their role within the LOC. Please copy in your LOC Chair.
Another course will be held starting on June 10. For more information visit the Training pages of the LOCSU website.
LOCSU Annual Report published
LOCSU’s 2017-2018 Annual Report, entitled Progress & Integration is now available for LOCs on the website.
The report covers the consolidation of Primary Eyecare Companies and a report of the tenure of LOCSU Chairman, Alan Tinger, who stood down after a decade leading the organisation. The report shows that the number of services in the sector stands just under 700 with PEC activities and revenue up nearly a quarter in the last full financial year to the end of March 2018.
Commissioner praises MECS on ITV News
The success of a Minor Eye Conditions Service negotiated by Lancashire and Morecambe Bay LOC has been featured on TV.
ITV local news in the north west of England has broadcast a segment about the free NHS service in the area.
LOC member and CGPL, Tim Bagot, was interviewed to explain how the service works and the item included input from both a patient and a commissioner to express their views of MECS.
The NHS Commissioner said: “It has reduced our waiting times significantly and that frees up our capacity in the acute sector so that our consultants can see the more complex cases.”
Border ITV reporter, Fiona Marley Paterson, posted the news clip on her Facebook page where it can be accessed via this link to her social media page.
Head of Communications at LOCSU, Chris McGachy said: “This is a great example of how LOCs can make the case for community optics. Featuring both patient testimony and a Commissioner explaining how it eases capacity issues, the broadcast ticks all the boxes in terms of getting our key messages out to the viewing public and local decision makers."
For more information on effective LOC communications, visit the LOC resources page of the LOCSU website and to see other examples of LOC news coverage visit the Media Centre section of the website.
Making the eye care case to the NHS
Influencing the NHS is an important activity for the optical sector. LOCSU has been making the case for eye health to be treated more seriously by the NHS.
In a recent keynote NHS Blog, LOCSU Chief Operations Officer, Richard Whittington, insisted that treatment in primary care was generally the most appropriate and timely place for the majority of minor eye conditions and low-risk monitoring of stable conditions.
The NHS England blog attracts around 56,000 page views a month. Posts are promoted via social media (mainly Twitter), which has a reach of 257,000 followers. The readership consists of leading health professionals and policymakers, as well as members of the public with an interest in health matters.
Follow this link to read the full blog.
LOC recruitment video get big thumbs up from pre-reg students
Hertfordshire LOC Vice Chair Daniel Harris and LOCSU Commissioning Lead Martin Russ road-tested the new recruitment video as part of a professional development session to optometry students at the University of Hertfordshire.
The short videos are primarily aimed at pre-reg students and feature experienced optical leaders discussing the career benefits of joining the LOC.
LOCSU has matched LOCs and university optometry courses with a view to presenting the video in a question and answer session as part of student’s career development.
Following the visit, Kalpana Theophilus, Optometry Lead on the Hertfordshire course, told the LOC that students had unanimously voted to make the LOC session a regular annual event on the curriculum.
“I just wanted to thank you both for the excellent talk that you delivered to the University of Hertfordshire students,” Kalpana revealed. “They genuinely got a lot from the talk. In a show of hands after you had left, they unanimously voted to ask you to come and visit every year!”.
Visit the LOC Resources section of the LOCSU website to view the video and download an adaptable LOC presentation aimed at optical professionals who are new to your area.
LOCSU and Newmedica plan national framework for stable glaucoma monitoring
Opticians will be able to work collaboratively with Newmedica ophthalmology consultants to manage patients with stable glaucoma in the community under a new LOCSU agreement now being developed.
The glaucoma plan follows the introduction last year of the first national framework agreement which enabled cataract patients to return to their community optometrist for post-operative assessment.
Announcing the tie-up at 100% Optical, LOCSU COO, Richard Whittington, said: "The intention is that once patients are categorised as stable by their consultant they will be offered the opportunity to have their follow-up appointments in the community at an accredited optical practice." Read the full news story on the LOCSU website.
2019 Leadership candidates announced
Candidates for this year’s Leadership Skills course have been announced. The list consists of: Fionnuala Scott (Cheshire LOC), Gordon Elliott (Central Mersey LOC), Jill Cheney (Wolverhampton LOC), Nita Mahalingham (Oxfordshire LOC), Omar Hassan (Rotherham & Barnsley LOC), Ruth Shelton (Oxfordshire LOC) and Steven Hui (Essex LOC).
LOCSU's Leadership Skills for Optical Professionals, is a 20-credit postgraduate module, and part of WOPEC’s MSc programme at Cardiff University. The module has produced many successful candidates who are now leading the development of primary eyecare services in Primary Eyecare Companies and LOCs, as LOC Officers, as Clinical Governance & Performance Leads, as LOCSU Commissioning Leads and in Local Eye Health Networks.
This course is designed to enable the practising optical professional to become an effective leader at local and national level within the optical sector through the support and development of LOCs and LEHNs, building effective strategic networks, influencing policy makers and enhancing eye health services for patients.
The LOCSU Leadership Module is open to optometrists with a BSc in Optometry and opticians who are FBDO-qualified. For more details visit the Training page of the LOCSU website.
RNIB updates local sight-loss tool
With more than 100 people going blind every year due to delays in follow-up appointments in hospital, it’s important that LOCs look at local sight loss indicators to help make the case for community eye health services to ease ophthalmology pressures.
The RNIB’s Sight Loss Data Tool is the UK’s biggest collection of eye health datasets. It collates a wide range of publicly available datasets and allows users to view local area data easily in one of three different automated reports.
The latest upgrade (Version 4) has brought some exciting changes to the way LOCs can access reports. All local authorities, regions and countries now have a stand-alone text report available in an Word document that tells a tailored story about the area through key statistics. And all the data is still available in an improved Excel tool, along with the custom tables which allows users to compare data for up to ten areas.
With the Sight Loss Data Tool, optical professional can read the report for, or find the data by, local authority, region or country areas. Datasets include:
The estimated number of people living with severe sight loss and projected change
The number of people registered as blind or partially sighted by age group
The estimated number of people living with sight threatening eye conditions and projected change
The number of local ophthalmology appointments by health authority area
The estimated cost of sight loss
Demographic data
The Sight Loss Data Tool was downloaded by 4,500 unique users in 2016/17. It is a vital evidence source for a wide range of organisations in the sight loss sector and supports work in across all elements of the sector including campaigning, service improvement and fundraising.
LOCs can download the tool at this link and you can find out more information on the update from the webpage.
Help with AGM planning
With some LOCs holding their Annual General Meeting as soon as early February, now is the time to start thinking about notifying members of the arrangements.
Although the normal notification period for AGMs is 21 days, for LOCs allowing postal votes, a further 21 days meaning a total of seven weeks is required constitutionally.
LOCSU is urging LOCs to put their plans in place now. The purpose of an AGM is for LOCs to report on the Committee’s activities of the past year, present the audited accounts of the past year, appoint auditors for the following year, vote on any resolutions, and elect the members of the committee. According to the 2016 Model Constitution, the AGM must take place within three months of the end of the LOC’s financial year.
It states: “A minimum period of 21 days’ notice must apply to the AGM plus a further 21 days for postal votes (making 42 days in total), so it becomes vital to have appropriate information to hand well in advance of the chosen date, particularly the audited accounts."
For tips on transparency and turnout and guidance on running an AGM visit the LOCSU website. Or LOCs can watch a short video on our LOCSU YouTube Channel. LOCs can also look up practical advice from experienced LOC Officers offered by Matt Jinkinson from Stockport LOC and Prab Boparai from Wolverhampton on our news pages.
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Committee’s activities of the past year, present the audited accounts of the past year, appoint auditors for the following year, vote on any resolutions, and elect the members of the committee. According to the 2016 Model Constitution, the AGM must take place within three months of the end of the LOC’s financial year.