The best opticians help their support staff reach their full potential with professional development programmes. That way, the right people are in place to serve patients.

At an appointment with your local optician, it’s not only the optometrist — the fully qualified professional who performs sight tests and writes prescriptions — who is there to make your visit as pleasant as possible. Various support staff will also guide you through your appointment. With the right qualifications, they can carry out pre-screening tests, advise on eye care and make adjustments to your spectacles to ensure they fit properly.

Role of dispensing opticians and training available

This year, for the first time, Asda Opticians has introduced various professional development programmes to support the career progression of these colleagues. For example, it now gives its hourly paid optical colleagues the chance to become a General Optical Council-registered dispensing optician, via a three-year Level 6 Dispensing Optician apprenticeship. This is delivered by their chosen training provider ABDO College, a training centre for optical professionals established by the Association of British Dispensing Opticians.

“A dispensing optician does not carry out sight tests,” explains Kristy Jackson, Optical Professional Development Manager at Asda Opticians. “Instead, these are optical professionals whose professional qualifications allow them to manage and advise on more complex prescriptions and optical needs. For instance, only fully qualified dispensing opticians can dispense prescriptions to under-16s.”

We’re making sure the next generation
of optical professionals are available
to enter the industry.

Professional development opportunities

A diploma in Contact Lens Practice is also available, so Dispensing Optician Optical Managers can develop their professional skills and become contact lens opticians. These optical professionals do not carry out eye tests either but have the specialist knowledge and qualifications to fit and assess contact lenses.

Additionally, Asda Opticians is opening a pre-registration optometrist programme in 2025, which it will deliver in partnership with Optom Academy. “Optometry degree students have to complete a year in practice, gaining clinical experience before they sit their final examinations,” says Jackson. “Successful candidates will soon be able to complete that year with us, under the direct supervision of a qualified and registered optometrist.”

Optometry talent growth and retention

There are numerous reasons why these professional development pathways are important. “Firstly, they help our people reach their full potential,” notes Jackson. “Secondly, training skilled support staff gives us a chance to grow and retain our own talent, so we have the right professionals serving our patients. Thirdly, optometry faces difficult recruitment challenges in parts of the country. We’re making sure the next generation of optical professionals are available to enter the industry and serve communities’ eye care needs.”

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Find some tips for better back health, especially while working from home. Improve posture, manage weight and stay active with simple, effective strategies.

Before the Covid-19 pandemic, it is estimated that less than 5% of employees worked from home. During the pandemic, this rose to nearer 50% of employees spending at least a part of their week working remotely. In 2024, around 25% of employees still work from home either fully or in a hybrid situation.

Your back, your priority

Approximately 2.5 million people in the UK live with a form of back pain. Reasons range from acute injury to degenerative conditions. However, most back pain is short-lived and caused by — among other things — a lack of physical activity, an increase in weight and posture problems rather than spinal damage or other health conditions.

Are you sitting comfortably?

Always sit all the way back in your chair, making your spine as long and straight as possible. If working on a computer, the screen will need to be raised anywhere between 5 and 10 inches to provide the proper height.

When sitting on a chair all day, the best way to look after your back is to get up regularly. Try to change your position at least every 20 minutes. Don’t work from sofas or chairs that are too low, deep, soft or angled backwards.

Approximately 2.5 million people in
the UK live with a form of back pain.

Choose your snacks wisely

Working from home can provide an increased opportunity to reach for the biscuit tin. As Hippocrates said: ‘Let food be your medicine and medicine be your food.’ Wherever possible, choose fruit or vegetables to quell the hunger pangs between meals. Avoid the temptation for those tasty morsels that are high in sugar and rich in fats.

Walking keeps back mobile and relieves pain

Recently, an Australian WalkBack study highlighted that ‘walking’ is a good way to keep the back mobile and take our mind off the pain. Who would have thought that something so simple and free could be so effective? Walking provides options for all — whether that is around the room, the garden, to the local shop or even further afield, the opportunities to stretch our legs in this way are without limits.

When to get help for back pain

Chronic low back pain often has no specific cause, but serious conditions must be ruled out by a medical professional if symptoms persist. Seek immediate help if you experience sudden shooting pains, numbness, reduced muscle strength or bladder/bowel issues.

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References 

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12. Jeffery, JBJS (B), September 1991 
13. Bäthis H. et al. (2004) Int. Orthop. 
14. Australian Orthopaedic Association National Joint Replacement Registry Annual Report 2021, AOA, Adelaide; 2021
15. Batailler C, White N, Ranaldi FM, Neyret P, Servien E, Lustig S. 2019;27(4):1232-1240.
16. Battenberg AK, Netravali NA, Lonner JH. 2019;14(1):55-60.
17. Gregori A.October, 2018; Montreal, Canada.
18. Canetti R, Batailler C, Bankhead C, Neyret P, Servien E, Lustig S. 2018;138(12):1765-1771.
19. Australian Orthopaedic Association National Joint Replacement Registry (AOANJR) 2019 Annual Report. Adelaide, AOA.
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Lockdown gave us all a glimpse of what it is like to breathe clean air and for many, including people with COPD, the experience was temporarily life-enhancing.

During the first national lockdown we were all given a glimpse of what a future with clean air could look and feel like.

As widespread travel restrictions came into effect, vehicle emissions, the highest contributors to air pollution in our towns and cities, were quickly reduced. This resulted in lower concentrations of nitrogen dioxide and fine particulate matter, known as PM2.5, in the atmosphere.

Air pollution contributes to 36,000¹ premature deaths each year and is the biggest environment threat to human health . It places a great burden on the NHS. PM2.5 is the most dangerous form and is linked to many long-term illnesses, such as lung cancer and cardiovascular disease.

There are 12 million people in the UK already living with lung diseases, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), plus the new cohort of people with ongoing breathing problems as a result of COVID-19. The exposure to high levels of air pollution can have immediate devastating consequences on these groups and impact their quality of life.

One in six people with lung disease², representing two million people, said their symptoms had improved during the first lockdown due to lower air pollution.

Widening health inequalities

Lung disease disproportionately impacts those living in the most deprived communities in the UK³ and people from the poorest areas are two-and-a-half times more likely to have COPD. Research shows that these communities are often exposed to the highest levels of toxic air.

COVID-19 is exposing the harsh realities of these health inequalities. Communities living with multiple deprivation are not only suffering the worst health effects of air pollution but are also most impacted by the pandemic. 

Air pollution is increasing

Whilst COVID-19 restrictions remain, figures show that traffic levels⁴ are close to pre-pandemic levels and rising as many people shift from public transport to private cars.

The increased use of older, dirtier vehicles is likely to cause air pollution levels to soar and the problem could become even more widespread as people stay away from towns and cities.

Air pollution contributes to 36,0001 premature deaths each year and is the biggest environment threat to human health.

As part of the COVID-19 response, the government has granted local authorities extra funds to improve cycling and walking and to aid social distancing measures, which is a huge step forward.

At the same time, measures designed to reduce vehicles emissions in major towns and cities across the UK, where some of the most deprived communities live and work, are being delayed or scrapped.

Birmingham, which has high levels of lung disease and has also been heavily impacted by COVID-19, had its Clean Air Zone delayed a further six months.

The UK’s air quality laws are also inadequate and current legal limits for PM2.5 are double those recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Air pollution is part of pandemic response and recovery

Tackling air pollution needs to go hand in hand with the COVID-19 response to prevent excess hospital admissions, reduce new lung conditions and improve the lung resilience of the UK population.

Widespread clean air planning to reduce toxic air is crucial to ensuring a green economic recovery and the government must use the Environment Bill, which is now back in parliament, to set tougher air quality laws, including legally binding targets on PM2.5  in line with WHO guidelines.

References:

¹ Public Health England air pollution evidence review, March 2019 | ² Asthma UK and British Lung Foundation survey of 14,000 people with lung conditions, June 2020 | ³ British Lung Foundation’s Battle for Breath Report, 2016 | Asthma UK. Car use returned to 100% of pre-lockdown levels, August 2020 ⁴

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