North of England Ophthalmological Society

The North of England Ophthalmological Society promotes postgraduate ophthalmic education in the northern counties of England and North Wales through three meetings each year. We encourage research by trainee ophthalmologists by awarding prizes for the best Paper, Poster and Video of the year.  We also award an Essay Prize - The PJ Hay Essay. The First World War (1914-18) disrupted the Society - there were only four meetings between the first meeting and October 1919, although by a card vote in 1918 it was agreed that the Society should affiliate with the Ophthalmological Society of the United Kingdom (OSUK). The minutes in the 1920's contain a considerable amount of medico-political debate, particularly about the mechanism of referral of insured patients and recommended fees. In 1923 a minimum of £1.1.0 (one guinea) was recommended - for refractions. Medical politics continued to form an important part of the Society's work during the 1940's, with much discussion of the proposed rules and regulations for ophthalmology, particularly sight-testing, under the new National Health Service which came into being in 1948. Sixty years later it seemed to many members that we are going over the same ground in reverse. Between 1950 and 1985 the meetings gradually changed with less emphasis on case presentations, which could be as high as fifty in one meeting, and an increasing place for papers and guest lectures, culminating in October 1985 with a discussion and vote on the format of meetings. These were reduced from five to three per year and there was to be greater emphasis on single theme meetings, with limited use of relevant case presentations where appropriate. For the past few decades medical politics have no longer been a concern of the Society, which is now focused purely on promoting best practice in ophthalmology through education and interactive debate. In the year 2000 the Society took the final steps to convert itself into a registered charity and a new constitution was approved.