EyePod: The optometry podcast

In this episode of WebinarXtra, Paramdeep talks to Mike Horler BSc FCOptom DipTp(IP) Higher Cert Med Ret, Consultant Optometrist in Medical Retina at Sussex Eye Hospital, following his webinar on now and future retinal treatments. The webinar provided an overview of treatment strategies used for late wet AMD, diabetic macula oedema and retinal vein occlusions.

Mike answers all those questions there wasn't time to cover during the live webinar.

In this episode of WebinarXtra, Denise talks to Dr Gordon Hay, Clinical Director for Emergency Care at Moorfields Eye Hospital, following his webinar on best practice for optometrists' written and telephone referrals. The webinar provided guidance on how to make clear and effective referrals to eye casualty.

Gordon answers all those questions there wasn't time to cover during the live webinar.

College clinical adviser Daniel Hardiman-McCartney MBE FCOptom speaks to optometrist Bhavin Shah MCOptom MBABO FBCLA about how he provides help and support to patients with dyslexia in his practice, the difference between dyslexia and visual stress, as well as his views on colour and tinted lenses.

In the first part of this podcast, College clinical adviser Dr Paramdeep Bilkhu MCOptom talks to Dr Rudrani Banik M.D. about visual snow syndrome. They discuss the potential causes of visual snow, how it affects patients, and the current state of treatments and research.

Dr Rudrani Banik is the Co-Director of Neuro-Ophthalmology at New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai and Associate Professor of Ophthalmology at Icahn School of Medicine, also at Mount Sinai.

In the second part, College clinical adviser Daniel Hardiman-McCartney FCOptom MBE speaks to Caroline Gill, who has recently been diagnosed with visual snow syndrome, about her condition and how it affects her.

College clinical adviser Daniel Hardiman-McCartney FCOptom MBE talks to principal optometrist at Moorfields Eye Hospital Jay Varia BSc(Hons) MCOptom DipTp(IP) Prof Cert Glauc about the advanced clinical practice course.

They discuss what the course entails, who it is aimed at, the skills that you learn, as well as what the course could lead to after completion.

In this episode of WebinarXtra, Daniel talks to optometrist Dr Rebekka Heitmar MCOptom Prof Cert Med Ret following her webinar on OCT in optometric practice for beginners, where she reviewed different OCT scans as well as evidence from research and emerging guidance on clinical practice.

In this special podcast for Black History Month, clinical adviser Denise Voon MCOptom first speaks to Dr Roxanne Crosby-Nwaobi postdoctoral ophthalmic nurse researcher, lead nurse for research at Moorfields Eye Hospital and honorary Associate Professor at UCL and secondly, Sylvia Chengo, visually impaired digital creator and disability advocate.

In this episode of WebinarXtra, Daniel talks to ophthalmologist Kam Balaggan about the macula.

In this episode of WebinarXtra, Daniel talks to ophthalmologist Kam Balaggan about floaters and the vitreous.

In this episode of WebinarXtra, Daniel talks to ophthalmologist Kam Balaggan about pseudoexfoliation and lens implants.

In the second part of our myopia guidance review podcast, College clinical adviser Daniel Hardiman-McCartney MBE FCOptom speaks to optometrist Dr Bhavin Shah MCOptom MBABO FBCLA about offering myopia management in his practice since 2016, the impact of the pandemic on children’s vision and how he communicates complex topics to parents and children.

College clinical advisers Dr Paramdeep Bilkhu MCOptom and Daniel Hardiman-McCartney FCOptom MBE discuss the latest updates on myopia management guidance including the recommendations for ensuring best practice. Dr Bilkhu, who co-led the guidance review, also discusses the importance of explaining risks and benefits as well as how the different management options compare.

"Whether myopia is within your scope of practice or not, you should make sure that you have the relevant knowledge and can hold a discussion with patients and their parents about myopia, how it is treated, the supporting evidence and the costs and benefits of myopia management. This will help them make an informed decision."

In this second episode of the OPO special edition podcast, Daniel speaks to two OPO journal authors; Paddy Gun MCOptom, Principal Optometrist for  Education and Training at the Manchester Royal Eye Hospital, and Emily  Charlesworth MCOptom, Clinical Research Optometrist at Bradford  University.

In the first half of the podcast, Daniel talks to Paddy about the results of the second national survey on the scope of practice of optometrists working in the UK Hospitals. In the second part, Emily tells Daniel about her investigations into the advice optometrists give their patients on target refraction when discussing cataract surgery.

In this two-part special OPO edition of the podcast, Daniel and Martin speak to College scholars, Associate Professor Keziah Latham FCOptom and  Doctor Jane Macnaughton FCOptom from Anglia Ruskin University. They discuss their research paper, asking if patient-identified ‘comfortable’ print size is a useful clinical parameter for low vision reading assessment.

Look out for the second episode with three more OPO journal authors, celebrating the work of College PhD scholars.

In this episode of WebinarXtra, Paramdeep talks to Dr Manbir Nagra MCOptom following her webinar on contact lenses. In her webinar, Dr Nagra provided a summary of recent developments in the field of contact lenses and considered the groundwork required to ensure ECPs are prepared for the expected changes. Dr Nagra answers all those questions there wasn't time to cover during the live webinar.

Dr Nagra is an optometrist, educator, and researcher working mainly in the fields of myopia, contact lenses, and health technologies.

Our Clinical advisor Daniel Hardiman-McCartney talks to Elaine Styles optometrist and co-founder of Vision Care for Homeless People, about eye exams, dispensing, glass repairs and referrals for the many different groups of people without a home. They discuss: the barriers to receiving eye care; the most common reason for homelessness, specific factors important to dispensing glasses; working with other health professions; the impact of the pandemic; and the many ways you can help.

Professor Leon Davies FCOptom, Editor of OiP, and Professor Shahina Pardhan MCOptom, Director of Vision and Eye Research Institute at ARU, discuss the impact of COVID-19 on eye health and eyecare. They look at the evidence around the link between COVID-19 and sore eyes, photophobia and watery eyes, and the effect of the pandemic on contact lens wearers. They also focus on the need to inform patients of COVID-19-related eye health issues and how and where they can seek advice when suffering from an eye complaint.

Professor Pardhan is co-author of the paper: COVID-19 and its impact on eyecare: a review. To read the paper head to:

After optometrist Tanjit Dosanjh's own father was imprisoned for a serious criminal offence 2003, he knew that he wanted to do all he could to change the lives of those entering the system. He used his own knowledge and skills to set up The Prison Optician Trust, which provides offenders with training in optics and a brighter future away from crime. He believes that other professions should do the same.

In this episode, Daniel talks to Tanjit and one of his trainees - an ex-offender who has just qualified as a dispensing optician, and who now has a thriving career in optics. 

In this episode, Daniel has a fascinating conversation with Professor Jose-Luis Jimenez, aerosol expert and fellow of the Cooperative Institute for Research in the Environmental Sciences (CIRES) at the University of Colorado Boulder, USA.

In July last year, Professor Jimenez was one of 239 experts in multiple scientific fields who signed an open letter to the CDC and WHO (1) urging them to recognise inhalation as the main mode of transmission of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19.

Daniel and Professor Jimenez’s conversation covers the difference between droplet and aerosol transmission, why it matters and how to reduce the spread, plus Jose’s publicly available modelling tool, which you can use to estimate the transmission risk in your practice (2).

Professor Jimenez shares his own personal recommendations on specific mask types. The College continues to align its views and recommendations on masks with those of Public Health England.

Resources mentioned

In this episode of WebinarXtra, Daniel talks to Consultant Ali Yagan following his webinar on common optic neuropathies, where he presented cases on different types of optic neuropathies and optic nerve swelling, to help optometrists identify urgent situations and when patients need to be managed as an emergency. Ali answers all those questions there wasn't time to cover during the live webinar.

Ali is the Consultant, Education Lead and Clinical Supervisor at Manchester Royal Eye Hospital. 

In this episode, Martin talks to Dr Joanne Wood - a Professor at Queensland University of Technology, Australia - about her latest research published in Ophthalmic and Physiological Optics (OPO) on how “Refractive Blur Affects Judgement of Pedestrian Walking Direction at Night”.  And Daniel speaks with the College’s own PR Manager, Ann Marie Stevens and Marketing and Communications Executive, Abby Duggan, to find out about the inspirational #FocusOnLife campaign, highlighting the importance of vision.

In this episode of WebinarXtra, Daniel talks to Michelle Hanratty MCOptom Dip Tp(IP) on how to decide what is best for your patient. Michelle - an Independent Prescribing Optometrist in private hospital practice - provides guidance on how to determine when to manage or monitor a patient’s condition and when to refer. Conditions include flashes and floaters, PVD, pseudophakic cystoid macular degeneration, suspect glaucoma and cataract referral.

In this episode Daniel and Martin interview not one, but two special guests. Martin, a new parent himself, discusses eye-related issues to look out for in newborns with Dr Gill Adams, a consultant paediatric ophthalmologist and strabismologist at Moorfields Eye Hospital. Daniel speaks with Mental Health Counsellor, David Beeney, following his webinar for Bitesize, about how we can take better care of the mental health of our teams and ourselves.  

In this episode of WebinarXtra, Daniel catches up with Dr Benjamin Wakerley to answer questions there just wasn't time to cover during the live event. In his webinar, Dr Wakerley spoke about different types of headache with a focus on migraines, and the red flag symptoms and "eye signs" to look out for.

Dr Benjamin Wakerley is a Consultant Neurologist at Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

Martin and Daniel bring you another WebinarXtra, where we answer questions there just wasn't enough time to answer during our live session. This time, Daniel talks to Dr Dan Rosser MCOptom FAAO DipTp(IP) DipGlauc about two common laser interventions for glaucoma and related conditions: Laser Peripheral Iridotomy and Selective Laser Trabeculoplasty. 

This week Martin and Daniel bring you another WebinarXtra covering all those questions there wasn't time to answer during the webinar. In this episode, College Clinical Adviser Paramdeep Bilkhu MCOptom talks to Rhys Harrison - a consultant at the Bristol Eye Hospital, University Hospitals Bristol & Weston NHS Trust.

Rhys' webinar was aimed at community optometrists and how they can identify patients requiring urgent referral. It focused on less well recognised cases, including Horner’s Syndrome, urgent causes of diplopia such as third nerve palsies, sixth nerve palsies and Wernicke’s encephalopathy.

In this episode of WebinarXtra, Clinical Advisers Daniel Hardiman-McCartney FCOptom and Dr Paramdeep Bilkhu MCOptom, answer questions there wasn't time to cover during their webinar, which discussed recent changes to the Guidance for Professional Practice and how this will affect you in practice.

The world of nutrition and nutritional supplements can sometimes be a minefield for both patients and optometrists. In this “Take Over” episode of the College's podcast, optometrist and avid listener, Sophie Hinton MCOptom speaks to Dr Rani Banik, New York neuro-ophthalmologist, and functional medicine MD, about the role of nutrition in eye care. Following her own experience with migraines, Dr Banik applies principles of complementary and alternative medicine in conjunction with traditional medical approaches to treat chronic diseases affecting the visual system in her practice. Their conversation covers the key nutrients and foods patients can eat to promote eye health, the use of supplements, how antioxidants in food may reduce cataract formation and the limits of nutrition science.

With the end of an extraordinary year approaching, Martin and Daniel thought it was time for a bit of nostalgia. Having recently stepped down from her role after nearly 20 years as The College's Clinical Adviser, Dr Susan Blakeney FCOptom takes a historical trip down memory lane with our Museum Curator, Neil Handley. They talk about what it's like representing the profession in the media; providing guidance in unprecedented times; and what the profession might look like in the future.

Choroidal naevi can be difficult to distinguish from melanomas, which means that many patients with benign tumours are referred to hospital eye clinics while urgent treatment of those with melanoma is delayed. In this episode of the College's podcast, Optometry in Practice Editorial Board member, Dr Lindsay Rountree MCOptom talks to Professor Bertil Damato PhD FRCOphth FCOptom about a scoring system to estimate the likelihood of malignancy, and how to manage patients accordingly.

Professor Damato is a Senior Clinical Research Fellow at the University of Oxford and Honorary Consultant Ophthalmologist at Oxford Eye Hospital. He was awarded Honorary Fellowship of the College in 2010 in recognition of his outstanding contribution to ocular oncology. Dr Rountree is Lecturer in Optometry at the University of Bradford.

In this episode of WebinarXtra, Daniel talks to Simon Frackiewicz MCOptom DipTp(IP) who answers all those questions there wasn't time to cover during his popular webinar on ocular motility. Simon's webinar covered the anatomy of the cranial nerves involved in ocular motility, their surrounding structures, and the common causes of nerve palsy.

Simon works as an optometrist and orthoptist both in a hospital setting and private practice. He regularly delivers lectures and workshops to optometrists on binocular vision.

Charles Bonnet Syndrome (CBS) is a common, but little known condition which refers to the silent visual hallucinations experienced by people who have lost part or all of their sight. They can often be distressing for patients and misdiagnosed by professionals as being a mental health issue. In this episode of the College's podcast, Martin and Daniel bring you a fascinating conversation with Judith Potts, Founder of Esme's Umbrella, and Nina Chesworth who lives with the condition. 

Following her own mother's experience with CBS, Judith has been tirelessly campaigning to raise awareness of the condition amongst the public and professionals alike. 

In this episode of WebinarXtra, Daniel talks to Mike Horler MCOptom who answered all those 'Xtra' questions there wasn't enough time to cover during his webinar. Mike provides a greater understanding of how to interpret OCT scans in diagnosing macula and disc conditions, making accurate diagnoses and referral decisions.

Optometry in Practice (OiP) Editor-in-Chief, Professor Leon Davies FCOptom, interviews Claire McDonnell MSc elearning FAOI, one of the authors of the recent paper 'Lissamine green – where have we been and where are we now?'. Claire talks about the importance of lissamine green as part of an anterior eye assessment, previous issues affecting its availability, conjunctival staining compared to corneal staining, the availability of new stains, and its application when also using sodium fluorescein.

Martin and Daniel bring you another College podcast episode and, this time, Martin talks to Professor John Lawrenson FCOptom of City University, London, about his editorial published in the July issue of the prestigious optometry journal, Ophthalmic and Physiological Optics (OPO). The paper provides a review of the evidence relating to COVID-19 and the eye, methods of transmission and practice implications.

Have you ever wondered how your actions affect those around you on a day-to-day basis? In this episode of the College's podcast, Martin and Daniel talk to Dr Rachel Pilling, a Consultant Ophthalmologist at Bradford Teaching Hospitals and, along with  Dan Wadsworth, the co-founder of the '15 seconds, 30 minute' social movement - a movement designed to reduce frustration and spread joy at work. Find out how you can make a small change to your daily practice that will have a huge impact on those around you.

Rachel specialises in paediatric ophthalmology, including squint surgery and retinopathy of prematurity screening and treatment. She is part of a team which provides visual assessments to children with developmental delay and special needs in eye clinic and when visiting special schools.

In this episode of WebinarXtra, Daniel talks to Katie Harrop MCOptom - Professional Services Director for No7 Contact Lenses - about the use of scleral lenses as an alternative to commonly fitted contact lenses. Katie answers all those questions you were itching to ask during her webinar but didn't get the time to. 

Our WebinarXtra episodes cover 'Xtra' questions there just wasn't time to answer during the live webinar. In this episode of WebinarXtra, Daniel talks to Consultant Ophthalmologist and Oculoplastic Surgeon, Raj Das-Bhaumik, about his recent webinar on suspicious lumps and bumps on the eyelids, with tips on which can be managed in practice and which need referring to the hospital eye service. 

Mr Raj Das-Bhaumik is a Consultant Ophthalmologist and Oculoplastic Surgeon at Moorfields Eye Hospital where he is former lead for lid oncology and is very much a specialist in this area.  He specialises in cosmetic and functional surgery including blepharoplasty, lid malposition and the diagnosis and treatment of benign and malignant tumours.  These range from chalazia to infiltrating cancers. He also specialises in eyelid reconstruction, trauma and treating watery eyes.  Mr Das-Bhuamik surgeons from around the world in these very specialised techniques and works closely with other surgical disciplines. 

College Council member and optometrist,  Dr Parth Shah MCOptom,  takes over our airwaves for the final time in with his third COVID-themed podcast. In this episode, he talks to Sally Gosling, Director of Education at The College of Optometrists,  about how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected optometrists’ professional roles, what they should be doing to respond to and take advantage of the evolving optical landscape, and how the College is actively supporting this through innovative CET, CPD and specialised higher qualifications.

Learning opportunities mentioned in this episode include: 

Daniel loves all our podcasts, but he was particularly excited to have the opportunity to talk to Professor Alastair Denniston at our annual conference, Optometry Tomorrow, back in February. Both Daniel and Martin spoke to Alastair - a Consultant Ophthalmologist at the University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust - about uveitis, and how advances in scanning and machine learning will revolutionise care for patients. Alastair's cutting edge research is also using this information to determine biomarkers for the risk of systemic diseases such as stroke or heart attack, in an exciting developing area called oculomics.

In the UK there are around 7,300 new cases of retinal detachment every year, with many patients presenting with flashes and floaters to optometrists. In this episode of WebinarXtra, Daniel talks to Kam Balaggan - Consultant in Vitreoretinal Surgery, Medical Retina and Cataracts at Wolverhampton and Midland Counties Eye Infirmary - about the most common causes of retinal detachment and how to spot them.

College Council member and optometrist Dr Parth Shah MCOptom continues his podcast takeover with part two of 'The Eyes and lows of lockdown'. In this episode, he talks to Ophthalmic Director and independent prescriber, Maninder Gudray MCOptom Dip TP(IP). They discuss the impact of COVID-19 on optical practices and what practice owners could be doing to mitigate the effects of the pandemic on their practice. 

Daniel catches up with Angela Whitaker MCOptom following her webinar where she presented case studies from glaucoma clinical practice patients who have been diagnosed and managed by optometrists. Find out why patients’ increasing risk of sight loss requires increasing levels of qualification and experience in the health care professional who is caring for them.

In this episode of WebinarXtra, Daniel talks to Kate Powell MCOptom, who answers questions from her recent webinar on diabetic retinopathy. The webinar was designed to help optometrists build their confidence in recognising the features of diabetic retinopathy, manage their patients, and learn how their role links with other aspects of diabetic patient eye care.

Professor Bernard Gilmartin FCOptom has very severe macular degeneration which has resulted in a dramatic loss of vision in one eye and threatens the vision in his other. He has undergone a prolonged and challenging battle that has involved extensive surgery in an attempt to save the vision in his only eye. 

Martin spoke to Professor Gilmartin and Mr Kam Balaggan, his physician, back in February 2020 at The College of Optometrists' annual conference, Optometry Tomorrow. Professor Gilmartin first captured the hearts of optometrists - many of whom he taught at university - at our conference in 2018, where he spoke candidly about his experience and Mr Balaggan's heroic efforts to save his remaining eye.

Mr Balaggan is Consultant in Vitreoretinal Surgery, Medical Retina and Cataracts Wolverhampton and Midland Counties Eye Infirmary.

A little later than planned, this month we talk to the inspirational Professor Shahina Pardhan - the first female Professor of Optometry in the UK. Professor Pardhan talks to Martin and guest host, Dr Susan Blakeney FCOptom, about her experience, the obstacles she faced in her own career and what can be done to remove those barriers for future generations.

Optometry in Practice (OiP) Editor-in-Chief, Professor Leon Davies FCOptom, talks to Dr Jonathan Denniss MCOptom, one of the authors of a recent paper on the use of optical coherence tomography (OCT) in the detection and diagnosis of glaucoma. Jonathan talks about the strengths and limitations of using OCT for glaucoma diagnosis and gives practical advice on how OCT can be used by optometrists. 

This month we look at a different aspect of optometry - eyewear trends through the ages. Following on from London Fashion week, Neil Handley, Curator of the College Museum, discusses the history of spectacles with Daniel, exploring their unique status as a medical device and fashion accessory. Neil also talks to Senior Tutor in Footwear Accessories and Millinery at the Royal College of Art, Flora McLean, together with two of her design students, Rebecca and Ely, about the annual RCA Frame Design Competition and possible future trends.

In this episode of WebinarXtra, Professor Bruce Evans FCOptom replies to the member questions there wasn't enough time to answer during his recent webinar. The webinar covered diagnosis of binocular vision anomalies, how to identify and investigate conditions that can be treated by an optometrist, those that require referral, or do not require treatment.

Genetic, or genomic testing, seems to be available for diagnosing a wide range of health conditions, but what if we could use the same method to predict myopia? Martin and Daniel introduce the latest episode in which Martin talks to Director of Research at Cardiff University, Professor Jeremy Guggenheim MCOptom who discusses the impact of genetics on myopia.

When College Member, John Campbell MCOptom, set off for work two years ago, he had no idea how the day would unfold. Faced with a member of the public who had just been the victim of a chemical attack, John describes the horrific injuries and the steps he took to try to save his sight. 

In this podcast, Daniel talks to Neil, the victim of the chemical attack, John Campbell MCOptom who provided the emergency care, and Kieran Loft MCOptom who provides the hospital after-care.

Martin introduces this special bonus podcast, in which our museum curator, Neil Handley, interviews the College's artist in residence for 2019, Iluá Hauck da Silva. Iluá talks about the inspiration for her work, including growing up a medical household and her own vision problems. 

Martin and Daniel bring you another College podcast, in which Martin talks to Professor Chris Hammond, Consultant Ophthalmologist at Kings College London and St Thomas' hospital, and Professor Kathryn Saunders FCOptom, Professor of Optometry and Vision Science at Ulster University, about all things myopia. They discuss current evidence and how patients can be guided through their treatment options.

Optometry in Practice (OiP) Editor-in-Chief, Professor Leon Davies FCOptom, interviews Dr Paramdeep Singh Bilkhu MCOptom about his recent paper on managing ocular allergies in optometric practice. Find out why allergic conjunctivitis is likely to be underdiagnosed; how to choose the best medication for your patients; and much more.

Martin Cordiner, Head of Research, and Daniel Hardiman-McCartney, Clinical Adviser talk all things referral in this month's College of Optometrists podcast. Martin speaks to Patrick "Paddy" Gunn, Principal Optometrist for Education and Training at The Manchester Royal Eye Hospital, about life in the hospital, glaucoma referral research and education and training.