Conference Report

Travel delays notwithstanding, this year’s two-day UKISCRS (UK & Ireland Society of Cataract & Refractive Surgeon, November 1-3) attracted good attendance, with representatives from all four of the devolved nations present. Many UK optical organizations, such as the Worshipful Company of Spectacle Makers, the British & Irish Orthoptic Society, and the Association of British Dispensing Opticians (ABDO), were also represented. The second day was devoted to UKISOP (the UK & Ireland Society of Ophthalmic Professionals), which draws practitioners from the cataract and refractive space who aren’t ophthalmologists; that is, optometrists, dispensing opticians, orthoptists, ophthalmic nurses, clinical nurse specialists, ophthalmic technicians, and photographers.

Presentations covered a range of topics, including the emotional impact of sight loss, dealing with people with auditory loss, ocular oncology, and working with children with specific learning difficulties, while at the exhibition we were introduced to products such as a virtual reality visual field machine, which can perform binocular visual field tests in approximately two minutes, a biometer for measuring axial length, a “wet lab” demonstrating cataract surgery on dummy eyes, and a dry eye workshop.

The feedback from the delegates was excellent; the consensus is that the conference brings the eye care community together for some vital continuous professional development, but also presents a fantastic opportunity to network with peers and colleagues, many of whom have not seen each other since the pre-COVID days.

Next year’s UKISCRS/UKISOP Conference will be held on November 28-29, 2024; excitement is already high, as this will be the 75th anniversary of ophthalmologist Harold Ridley implanting the very first intraocular lens, a world-first surgery that revolutionized eye treatments.

https://www.ukiscrs.org.uk/