Volunteer patients required for Optometry Tomorrow 2026

We are looking for volunteer patients to take part in clinical workshops at Optometry Tomorrow 2026, taking place on 14 and 15 June at the Harrogate Convention Centre. Volunteer patients will be paid £20 per session, and all of your travel expenses will be reimbursed. We will also provide some light refreshments whilst you are on site with us.

Patient requirements

We’re particularly hoping to meet people who have the following conditions to sit as volunteer patients for one-hour sessions to help optometrists enhance their skills in certain areas:

People who wear hard (‘rigid gas permeable’) contact lenses due to:

• keratoconus, a condition that changes the shape of the front of the eye

People affected by glaucoma with one of the following:

• narrowed tear drainage openings (punctal stenosis), who may be suitable for small comfort plugs
• a blocked drainage channel due to pigment dispersion syndrome, pseudoexfoliation, or Fuchs heterochromic cyclitis (long-term changes inside the eye that an optometrist or eye doctor may have mentioned to you)
• rubeotic glaucoma, a form of glaucoma caused by abnormal blood vessel growth in the eye
• a previous episode of acute angle closure (a sudden rise in eye pressure)
• a previous laser iridotomy, a small laser treatment made in the coloured part of the eye

How to apply

If you have any of the above conditions and able to volunteer please contact us Sian Palmer-Thompson at The College of Optometrists on 020 7766 4347 or email [email protected]