On Friday 20th May, Member of Parliament for South Leicestershire, Alberto Costa, met with representatives from the Leicestershire and Rutland Optical Committee, the Optical Confederation and Specsavers at the Specsavers practice in Lutterworth, in order to discuss the importance of regular eyes tests and the role community optometry can play in delivering eye care.
Alberto said, "It was a pleasure to meet with representative from the County's Optical Committee, the Optical Confederation and of course, Specsavers, who I am thankful to for hosting our meeting earlier today. Of course, eye care is especially important and I was very encouraged to hear of the very good work many Optometrists and Opticians are doing both across the constituency and the County".
Sophie Pavlovic, Public Affairs Officer for the Optical Confederation, said, "Over 1.8 million people in the UK are living with sight loss and this figure is set to increase by 115% to nearly 4 million people by 2050, largely due to the ageing population. Much of this is preventable through the early detection and treatment of eye problems. Regular sight tests are a simple and practical way to maintain good eye health and look after your eyes".
Alberto concluded,"Many groups of people are entitled to NHS-funded sight tests - including those aged over 60 and all children aged under 16 - and so I would encourage all of my constituents to ensure they attend their local opticians for an eye test at least once every two years".
Alberto is pictured above with Mr Ahbjit Roy, Director of Specsavers, Mr Vinesh Patel, Chair of the Leicestershire & Rutland Optical Committee and Ms Sophie Pavlovic, Public Affairs Officer of the Optical Confederation.