by Lorcan Butler, Optical Engagement Manager, thebraintumourcharity.org,
UKISCRS is the UK & Ireland Society of Cataract & Refractive Surgeons who had their annual Conference in London with a two-day event at The Leonardo City Hotel. On the other hand, UKISOP is the UK & Ireland Society of Ophthalmic Professionals, who had their own event on the second day of the conference.
UKISOP is comprised of anybody in the cataract and refractive space that isn’t an ophthalmologist – this would include optometrists, dispensing opticians, orthoptists, ophthalmic nurses, clinical nurse specialists, ophthalmic technicians, photographers.
Travel on the day was restricted by train delays and disruption to normal services but still everybody came from all four corners of the UK with all four devolved nations having representatives present. The numerous optical organisations also had representatives present from the Worshipful Company of Spectacle Makers, British & Irish Orthoptic Society and the Association of British Dispensing Opticians, demonstrating the wonderful collaborations that we all make for the benefit of our patients.
We had a packed morning of lectures followed by a wonderful hands-on workshop. The morning lectures were delivered by a diverse range of speakers all bringing their respective experience and insight. The varied range of presentations were on topics such as ‘Emotional Impact of Sight Loss’, ‘Dealing with people with Auditory Loss’, ‘Ocular Oncology’, and ‘Working with children with specific learning difficulties’.
The afternoon workshop was a busy time with four main exhibitors giving us a hands-on approach to their fantastic equipment, some of which the delegates had read or heard about but never actually had a chance to experiment with. There was also a very busy exhibition / trade area with numerous providers of equipment to the ophthalmology industry sector, both UK and worldwide.
There was a virtual reality visual field machine which can perform binocular visual field tests in approximately two mins. There was also an axial biometer which we could use to demonstrate the axial length, which is now seen as the ‘gold-standard’ measurement in myopia control around the globe, a ‘wet lab’ demonstrating cataract surgery on dummy eyes, and a dry eye workshop.
The feedback from delegates was excellent, with everybody enjoying the day, bringing the ophthalmic community together for some continuous professional development, but also fantastic networking with peers and colleagues that they may not have seen since before Covid-19.
Excitement is high for next year’s UKISCRS / UKISOP Conference, held between 28–29 November 2024, as it will be the 75th Anniversary of the very first cataract surgery performed by ophthalmologist Sir Harold Ridley, revolutionising eye treatments at the time.
If you work in the ophthalmology space and would like to know more about UKISOP, please visit www.ukiscrs.org.uk.
