British Association of Retinal Screening - BARS

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British Association of Retinal Screening - BARS

Working to support professionals involved in retinal screening for people with diabetes. http://www.

The British Association of Retinal Screening aims to provide a continuing educational, representational and support resource for those involved in screenin, both by using the internet and by the organisation of suitable conferences and meetings.

01/10/2026

🎉 ONE YEAR TO GO! BARS Conference 2027 🎉

We’re excited to officially start the countdown to the return of the BARS National Conference!

📅 Friday 1 October 2027
📍 Leonardo Royal Hotel Brighton Waterfront
🌊 Brighton

After our regional Practical OCT Workshops in 2026, we’re bringing the BARS community back together for a full national conference by the sea. 👁️

Planning is already underway, with a programme being developed around the issues, learning and developments that matter to people working across diabetic eye screening.

And there’s more… 📸
The BARS Photography Competition will also be returning for 2027!

Over the coming months we’ll be revealing:

🔹 Speakers and programme
🔹 Educational sessions and workshops
🔹 Trade and exhibition opportunities
🔹 Photography competition details
🔹 Registration and ticket information

For now, save the date — Friday 1 October 2027.

https://www.tickettailor.com/events/britishassociationofretinalscreening1/2438388

⏳ 365 days to go… Brighton, here we come! 🌊👁️

21/09/2026

If you're living with diabetes it's important that you attend your eye screening appointments 👀

While it's different to a regular sight test at the opticians, it can spot changes in your eyes before you notice any symptoms or changes to your vision, including early signs of diabetic retinopathy.

Diabetes health checks are part of your routine NHS treatment. There are 9 checks, and eye screening is one of them ✅

➡️ Learn more: https://orlo.uk/z9Qxz

📢 And if you aren't getting eye check appointments, contact your GP or hospital team. They can refer you to your nearest eye check service.

15/09/2026

🎉 Bristol Practical OCT Workshop, this Friday!

Following the great feedback from our sold-out Middlesbrough workshop, we’re looking forward to welcoming delegates to our sold-out Bristol Practical OCT Workshop on Friday 18 September. 👁️🔬

Here’s the revised schedule for the day:

☕ 09:00–09:30 – Registration / tea & coffee
🔬 09:30–10:00 – Trade equipment demonstrations
📚 10:00 – Teaching programme begins

10:00–11:30 – Talks
• What is OCT imaging?
• What are the retinal layers?
• What are the OCT features in diabetes?
• Non-DR features seen on OCT
• Artefacts & image quality

👩‍⚕️ 11:45–12:45 – Practical workshops
Four colour-group sessions

🥙 Lunch

📢 13:30 – BARS AGM 2026
This year’s AGM will also be available online via Microsoft Teams, giving BARS members the opportunity to listen, have their say and hear the latest from the BARS Council. Joining details are available through the AGM invitation and BARS website.

14:00–15:00 – Talks
• How to grade OCT scans for diabetic maculopathy & retinopathy
• Treatment of diabetic maculopathy & retinopathy

👩‍⚕️ 15:00–16:00 – Practical workshops
• Urgent cases
• OCT grading
• Routine referrals

✅ 16:15 – Feedback and close

We had some fantastic feedback from Middlesbrough and can’t wait to do it all again in Bristol. 🙌

A huge thank you to everyone attending, teaching, exhibiting and supporting the day, see you Friday!

08/09/2026

🎉 A fantastic day in Middlesbrough!

Today’s BARS Practical OCT Course welcomed 46 attendees for a full day of OCT teaching, case discussions and hands-on practical sessions. 👁️🔬

It was brilliant to see such a strong turnout and so much engagement throughout the day.

A huge thank you to Samantha Mann, Daniela Vaideanu-Collins, Richard Bell and Simon White for delivering and supporting the course, as well as our industry partners for helping make the practical sessions possible.

And we’re delighted that our next Practical OCT Course in Bristol is also now sold out! 🙌

Thank you to everyone who has supported these regional workshops.

07/09/2026

🎉 SOLD OUT – BARS Practical OCT Workshop, Middlesbrough!

We’re looking forward to welcoming delegates tomorrow for a full day of practical OCT learning, case discussion and hands-on workshops.

Agenda highlights:

🕙 10:00–11:30 – Morning talks
• What is OCT imaging?
• Retinal layers
• OCT features in diabetes
• Non-DR features seen on OCT
• Artefacts & image quality

🔬 11:45–12:45 – Practical workshops
Four colour-group sessions, followed by lunch.

👁️ 14:00–15:00 – Afternoon talks
• How to grade OCT scans for diabetic maculopathy & retinopathy
• Treatment of diabetic maculopathy & retinopathy

🩺 15:00–16:00 – Practical workshops
Urgent cases, OCT grading and routine referral examples, followed by feedback and close at 16:15.

A huge thank you to everyone who has booked, the workshop is now completely sold out! 🙌

We’re looking forward to a great day of learning and discussion with the diabetic eye screening community.

28/08/2026

Sharing opportunities with the BARS community

BARS is always happy to hear about educational events, webinars, training opportunities, resources and other initiatives that may be useful to professionals working in diabetic eye screening.

Where something is clearly relevant to the DES community and offers genuine educational or professional value, we may be happy to share it through our social media channels.

To keep things fair, requests will be considered from all organisations using the same approach. Sharing content does not represent a formal endorsement by BARS, and we may not be able to promote every request we receive.

If your organisation has something you think would benefit our members, please get in touch and we’ll be happy to consider it.

https://eyescreening.org.uk

24/08/2026

📢 JOB OPPORTUNITIES – DIABETIC EYE SCREENING

There are currently two exciting opportunities being advertised through the BARS website for colleagues working in Diabetic Eye Screening:

👁️ Specialist Grader – NHS Band 6
📍 Humber Diabetic Eye Screening Programme / Hull University Teaching Hospitals
⏰ Full time – 37.5 hours
📅 Applications close 31 August 2026

The role includes slit-lamp biomicroscopy, retinal image and OCT grading, supporting and developing grading staff, and helping the programme maintain national quality standards.

👁️ Diabetic Retinal Screener/Grader – NHS Band 4
📍 County Durham and Darlington
⏰ Full time – 37.5 hours
📅 Applications close 27 August 2026

This role includes retinal photography, OCT imaging and supporting patients through the screening pathway while contributing to the delivery of a safe, effective and high-quality screening service.

🔗 Full details and links to apply for both vacancies are available on the BARS website.

https://eyescreening.org.uk/job-vacancies

Please share with colleagues or anyone in the Diabetic Eye Screening community who may be interested.

31/07/2026

📣 The BARS Chronicle – Volume 15 is out now!

This issue includes:

♿ Improving access to diabetic eye screening for people with learning disabilities

🔬 New research on screening patients aged 80 and over

💼 The launch of the BARS Jobs Board

👁️ An Interesting OCTs feature on MacTel Type 2

🌊 Early details for the BARS Conference 2027 in Brighton

Have a read and share it with your colleagues. https://eyescreening.org.uk/the-bars-chronicle

29/07/2026

👁️ Final places available for our BARS Practical OCT Workshops!

The Middlesbrough workshop is nearly full, with only 8 tickets remaining, while places are also still available for Bristol.

These one-day workshops are designed for professionals working in diabetic eye screening who want to build their confidence in OCT image acquisition and interpretation.

📍 Middlesbrough – Tuesday 8 September 2026
📍 Bristol – Friday 18 September 2026

The day includes:

🔹 Practical OCT interpretation
🔹 Diabetic and non-diabetic OCT features
🔹 Interactive case discussions
🔹 Urgent and routine referral decisions
🔹 Small-group sessions
🔹 Live equipment demonstrations
🔹 Certificate of attendance

🎟️ £75 per person

Invoices can also be provided for NHS programmes requiring a purchase order.

Places are limited, so please book soon to avoid missing out:

🔗 https://eyescreening.org.uk/conference

Please share with any colleagues or teams who may be interested.

15/07/2026

Limited places remaining, don’t miss out!

Our BARS Practical OCT Workshops are now just 6 weeks away, and places are filling up.

If you’re involved in diabetic eye screening and want to build confidence in OCT interpretation, this is a fantastic opportunity to learn from experienced faculty in a practical, hands-on environment. The workshops cover OCT image interpretation, retinal layers, diabetic and non-diabetic pathology, referral decisions, live equipment demonstrations and interactive case discussions.

Choose your location:

📍 Middlesbrough – Tuesday 8 September 2026
📍 Bristol – Friday 18 September 2026

✔ Practical workshops
✔ Live OCT demonstrations
✔ Expert speakers
✔ Interactive case discussions
✔ Certificate of attendance

Places are limited, so if you’ve been thinking about booking, now’s the time!

Book your place via the BARS website:
https://eyescreening.org.uk/conference

Please help us spread the word by sharing this post with colleagues who may be interested.

Address

Dundee
DD19SY

Website

http://www.eyescreening.org.uk/

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