National Eye Health Week 2023

That the Parliament notes National Eye Health Week, which runs from 18 to 24 September 2023 and provides an opportunity to promote the importance of maintaining good eye health, and to raise awareness of the services and support available to people on the eye care support pathway across Scotland; believes that every person in Scotland on an eye care journey should be able to access appropriate information and support; understands that 50% of sight loss is avoidable; considers that everyone in Scotland should undertake a free eye health check, at least every two years, to pick up as early as possible any changes before they affect their vision, and allow effective treatment regardless of where they live or what background they come from; notes reports of a projected increase in the number of people affected by sight loss which, it believes, will require increased attention from the public, private and third sectors; celebrates the work currently taking place across the third sector, optometry, the NHS and the Scottish Government in developing the provisions of the eye care support pathway; notes the reported support for a continued focus on improving communication and shifting the balance of care between available services, and increasing the use of the best available technology in a patients' sight loss journey; further notes the reported support for an end-to-end eye care support pathway, providing patients with the best care possible; recognises the work of Optometry Scotland and the visual impairment sector in supporting the work of the NHS and social services on the sight loss pathway; commends the efforts of Optometry Scotland and RNIB Scotland in promoting National Eye Health Week, and notes the calls for people living in Greenock and Inverclyde, and across Scotland, to book their free eye health check if they have not done so in the last two years.