New data suggests that hundreds of ophthalmology patients are experiencing avoidable and irreversible harm to their vison by not being able to access NHS appointments. Over 70% of optometrists in the UK have also said they have seen a patient in the last six months who had experienced a delay to treatment of 12 months or more. Ophthalmology within the NHS is one of the biggest outpatient specialty and is experiencing severe pressure under patient need. So could a nationalised eye health strategy from Government be the answer? The Association of Optometrists and the Macular Society think so. We speak to Farah Topia, Optometrist and Clinical Advisor for the AOP and to the Macular Society's chief executive, Cathy Yelf. The CSUN Assistive Technology Conference in California concluded last week. It is the world's largest event dedicated to exploring new ways technology can assist people with disabilities. Dave Williams from the RNIB was in attendance and he tells us what kind of exciting new technologies are in development. Presenter: Peter White Producer: Beth Hemmings Production Coordinator: Liz Poole Website image description: Peter White sits smiling in the centre of the image, wearing a dark green jumper. Above Peter's head is the BBC logo (three individual white squares house each of the three letters). Bottom centre and overlaying the image are the words "In Touch" and the Radio 4 logo (the word Radio in a bold white font, with the number 4 inside a white circle). The background is a bright mid-blue with two rectangles angled diagonally to the right. Both are behind Peter, one of a darker blue and the other is a lighter blue.

Network Rail's Rupert Lown gives clarification as to when all tactile paving installation works will be completed across the entire UK train network. Extant Theatre are a performing arts company that put visual impairment at the heart of all they do. One of their most recent renditions is a pantomime that is touring throughout March: the Super Power Panto. We sent along opera singer Bethan Langford to a performance in Wolverhampton during the first leg of its tour and she joins us to share her thoughts. Extant Theatre is run by visually impaired artistic director, Maria Oshodi. She joins us to give a little insight into her long career as a playwright and what the future looks like for Extant Theatre. Remaining Super Power Panto dates: Friday 17th March: Northern Stage, Newcastle Thursday 23rd and Friday 24th March: Brixton House, London Tuesday 28 March: Komedia, Brighton Presenter: Peter White Producer: Beth Hemmings Production Coordinator: Liz Poole Website image description: Peter White sits smiling in the centre of the image, wearing a dark green jumper. Above Peter's head is the BBC logo (three individual white squares house each of the three letters). Bottom centre and overlaying the image are the words "In Touch" and the Radio 4 logo (the word Radio in a bold white font, with the number 4 inside a white circle). The background is a bright mid-blue with two rectangles angled diagonally to the right. Both are behind Peter, one of a darker blue and the other is a lighter blue.

The Islamic Republic of Iran has seen widespread protests in recent months following the death of Mahsa Amini in custody. The news of the brutality of the regime against its protesting citizens has been widespread; we discuss how some protesters are being purposefully shot in their eyes and blinded. Khosro Isfahani is from the BBC's Monitoring Service and has been following the developments in Iran since the beginning, he provides us with a wider image of what is currently happening in Iran and explains the potential reasons behind these eye shootings. We hear from two film makers, Tim Burton and Danielle Sellwood, who have recently held accessible screenings of outdoor adventure films at the Sheffield Adventure Film Festival. Both have been making a conscious effort to include accessibility features on the films that they make, be those closed captions and audio description. Danielle and Tim tell us how including AD on outdoor adventure films may encourage blind and partially sighted people to get more active. Fern Lulham also joins us and provides a wider analysis of current AD provisions on movies. Presenter: Peter White Producer: Beth Hemmings Production Coordinator: Liz Poole Website image description: Peter White sits smiling in the centre of the image, wearing a dark green jumper. Above Peter's head is the BBC logo (three individual white squares house each of the three letters). Bottom centre and overlaying the image are the words "In Touch" and the Radio 4 logo (the word Radio in a bold white font, with the number 4 inside a white circle). The background is a bright mid-blue with two rectangles angled diagonally to the right. Both are behind Peter, one of a darker blue and the other is a lighter blue.

Eleanor Burke recently travelled to Ireland via Gatwick Airport with her guide dog. She has made this journey many times before but this time was held up for an hour in the security area by a member of staff that was not satisfied with her guide dog's documentation. We invited her onto the program to tell us what happened. Adam Jones is Gatwick's Head of Passenger Services, he explains the steps they will be taking to ensure this does not happen to other guide dog owners. Avanti West Coast are trialling a new WhatsApp messaging service, called Travel Companion, that will allow disabled passengers contact someone for help before, during and after their train journeys. Ricky West and Martin Byrne are both visually impaired and are working on the service, they tell us what people can expect from it. The number to contact the service is 07980037037. And an update on the state of the tactile paving installations across the UK's rail network. Presenter: Peter White Producer: Beth Hemmings Production Coordinator: Liz Poole Website image description: Peter White sits smiling in the centre of the image, wearing a dark green jumper. Above Peter's head is the BBC logo (three individual white squares house each of the three letters). Bottom centre and overlaying the image are the words "In Touch" and the Radio 4 logo (the word Radio in a bold white font, with the number 4 inside a white circle). The background is a bright mid-blue with two rectangles angled diagonally to the right. Both are behind Peter, one of a darker blue and the other is a lighter blue.

With the ongoing war in Ukraine, the European Blind Union have been looking for ways to help the visually impaired that have stayed in the country and those that have moved to neighbouring countries. Their Executive Director is Lars Bosselmann and he tells us about some recent financial aid the EBU sent into Ukraine. He tells us what this money went towards, and about what the EBU's plans are to continue assisting the visually impaired dealing with the war. Olga and Denys Petrov are a Ukrainian blind couple that evacuated to Poland ten days after the war began. We spoke to them soon after they moved; with a five-year-old daughter, seven animals and Olga was pregnant at the time. She has now had their baby and so we catch up with them to see how things are going and what their plans are when it comes to returning to Ukraine. The Royal College of Ophthalmologists is the representative body of the ophthalmic profession in the UK. We've invited them onto the programme to give us some insight into what is best practice when delivering medical news about your eyes. Stephen Kaye is their Vice President and he tells us about the kinds of training that ophthalmologists get in this area, about whose role it is to give information on after care services and we discuss the importance of the Eye Clinic Liaison Officer. Presenter: Peter White Producer: Beth Hemmings Production Coordinator: Liz Poole Website image description: Peter White sits smiling in the centre of the image, wearing a dark green jumper. Above Peter's head is the BBC logo (three individual white squares house each of the three letters). Bottom centre and overlaying the image are the words "In Touch" and the Radio 4 logo (the word Radio in a bold white font, with the number 4 inside a white circle). The background is a bright mid-blue with two rectangles angled diagonally to the right. Both are behind Peter, one of a darker blue and the other is a lighter blue.