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Our Aim

To improve screening uptake and increase awareness of diabetic eye screening, we actively welcome and value all forms of community engagement. By working closely with local organisations, community groups, healthcare partners and individuals with lived experience, we aim to ensure clear, accessible information reaches those who need it most.

Community engagement plays a vital role in breaking down barriers to attendance, addressing misconceptions, and building trust in the screening programme. Through conversations, events and collaborative initiatives, we strive to raise awareness of the importance of regular eye screening in preventing sight loss and supporting people with diabetes to protect their vision.

Previous projects we have hosted include:

Health & Wellbeing Day

Across all our programmes, we are committed to maintaining a strong community presence and ensuring equitable access to our services for all service users. We deliver care in a range of community settings, extending provision beyond traditional clinic locations. We are proud to be invited to health and wellbeing events in partnership with a variety of charities, which gives us valuable opportunities to raise awareness of the importance of diabetic eye screening and to provide care and essential information in diverse community environments.

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Pharmacy Stickers Campaign

To raise awareness of diabetic eye screening during Diabetes Awareness Week, we launched the Eye Screening Sticker Campaign across four Diabetic Eye Screening Programmes. Stickers highlighted the importance of screening and signposted patients to booking contact details. Local pharmacies supported the initiative by placing stickers on prescription bags for diabetes medications, helping reach people with diabetes and reinforce the importance of regular eye screening appointments.

Click for downloading a sample sticker (Poster tab).

Seminars / Workshop Participation

Participating in workshops helps us maintain a visible presence within local communities. This includes attending existing events with information stalls to share diabetic eye screening guidance, and offering on‑site appointments using our screening cameras. These activities demonstrate proactive engagement. We also host our own community events to raise awareness, improve access to screening, and strengthen relationships across diverse local settings and support ongoing community engagement.

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Coffee & Chat

Our coffee and chat mornings create opportunities for meaningful conversations with service users, encouraging questions and suggestions. These sessions help us gather real‑time feedback, address concerns, and share programme updates. We value these events as spaces for shared learning and collaboration, strengthening partnerships, increasing awareness of our services, and maintaining a visible, trusted presence within local communities across diverse settings and engagement opportunities for all.

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Diabetes Awareness Week

Diabetes awareness initiatives offer opportunities to collaborate with charities, services, and organisations to promote effective diabetes management and engagement with ongoing care. This includes reinforcing attendance at routine appointments and screenings. Awareness weeks also enable creative ways to share key messages with priority groups, helping us reach service users more effectively, spotlight diabetic eye screening, increase understanding, and emphasise its role in preventing sight loss.

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Patients’ Group

Patient groups allow us to hear directly from patients, gather real‑time feedback, and gain insight to improve service quality. They help identify what works well and where change is needed, while ensuring patient voices are heard by key programme leads. These groups also support community engagement, sharing updates, informing improvements, and holding us accountable for actions taken following discussions within our local services and pathways.

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Lunch & Learn for Nurses

Our Lunch and Learn sessions are focused 45‑minute engagements introducing the Diabetic Eye Screening Programme. They explain the screening process and grading results in an accessible way, while encouraging collaborative discussion on increasing screening uptake. The sessions also help identify shared challenges, explore practical solutions, and strengthen partnership working to improve outcomes for people living with diabetes across healthcare settings and community organisations locally nationally.

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GP Digital Information Screens

We have developed a digital signage video that highlights key messages around screening attendance, maintaining good eye health, and includes clear contact details for anyone wishing to take action. This content is already being shared across GP practices and pharmacies, and we are now exploring opportunities to extend its reach into wider public settings such as shopping and fitness centres. To support consistent messaging across all locations, we have also provided printed posters and leaflets for distribution where digital displays are not available.

Click for downloading digital signage files (Poster tab).

Special Needs Educational Sessions

The rollout of our special educational needs sessions provides tailored support for individuals who require additional assistance when attending appointments. These sessions help create an inclusive environment, support learning, and address potential barriers to access. They also offer valuable insight into how we can improve our service, ensure accessibility, and better understand and respond to the needs of our service users across our local communities.

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If you are interested in collaboration, please contact us via email miul.nec-engagement@nhs.net.