Membership Details

PLEASE NOTE: You can now register and renew your membership online » this is the preferred approach and enables us to quickly track payments. In the future you will also be able to track your payment history online. The Secure Payment pages via WorldPay offers single annual payment or regular payment using a variety of credit and debit cards. You are still entitled to the the same benefits using the online payment system - for example: Membership is normally from January 1st to following December 31st. Applications for membership received 3 months prior to January 1st will be for remainder of current year PLUS entire following year to December 31st.

We have invested considerable time and effort to enable this functionality and we trust you will appreciate the benefits.

If you experience any problems we are more than happy to assist.

Application forms - for those who really need to use the old system

The Ophthalmic Imaging Association Membership Application Form is available in portable document format (.pdf).

download application form »

Most computers will have this installed. If you do not have this installed on your computer (you will probably be prompted with a save dialogue without the open option) it is available free of charge from:

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Eligibility for classification as a Member of the Association

The short version of the 'Eligibility for classification as a Member of the Association' is available here » (requires acrobat reader - see above) the full version of the constitution is given below.

Ophthalmic Imaging Association Constitution

Our constitution is presented below in full and is also available as a downloadable pdf file » for viewing off-line. See above if you do not have acrobat installed on your computer.

The Constitution of the Ophthalmic Imaging Association (Formerly the British Ophthalmic Photographic Association).

The name of the Association shall be the “Ophthalmic Imaging Association”, the abbreviated designation for which shall be “OIA” and which hereinafter shall be identified as “the Association”.

The Association shall be controlled and governed by the Officers and Council of members of the Association, hereinafter identified as “the Officers” and “the Council” respectively.

To promote good practice, education, training & research within the discipline of ocular imaging
To stimulate the development of new techniques and working practices in the investigation of disease or disability affecting the eyes or vision of patients
Through the provision of continuing education and professional development, thereby to ensure the maintenance of the highest standards of practice of those involved in ocular imaging
To promote research and evidence-based practice within the profession
To facilitate communication between those involved in ocular imaging and ophthalmic science particularly with respect to good working practices and employment

Officers of the Association

President
Chairman
Chairman-elect
Honorary Secretary
Honorary Treasurer

Categories of Membership of the Association

General Member
Medical Member
Affiliate
Honorary Fellow
Corporate Member
Retired Member

Eligibility for classification as a member of the Association shall be as follows:

General Member Pre-registrant: A person working in fields related to ocular imaging and concurrently studying for a recognised qualification in ophthalmic science, technology and/or care, shall be eligible to apply as a Pre-registered General Member of the Association.

Full General Member: A person registered as an Ophthalmic Science Practitioner (from such time as registration is appropriate) and/or registered as a Retinal Screener (from such time as registration is appropriate) and, in either case, actively carrying out duties relating to ophthalmology and ophthalmic imaging shall be eligible to apply to be classified as a full General Member of the Association.

Medical Member: A qualified ophthalmologist or other medical practitioner who is working in the field of ophthalmology shall be eligible to apply to be classified as a Medical Member of the Association. There are two categories of Medical Members:

Consultant
Non Consultant grades

Affiliate: A person working in the field of ophthalmology who promotes and abides by the Aims and Objectives of the Association but who otherwise does not meet the criteria for other membership categories, shall be eligible to apply for classification as an Affiliate of the Association.

Honorary Fellow: The Association shall have the power to confer on an individual the distinction of Honorary Fellowship of the Association where, in the opinion of Council, that person has given outstanding service to the profession. In such cases, that person shall be deemed to be an Honorary Fellow of the Association and shall be entitled to use the designation Hon. F.O.I.A.

Corporate Member: A company working in or providing services related to the application of ophthalmology shall be eligible to apply for classification as a Corporate Member of the Association. Corporate Member organisations shall appoint from their employees one primary and optionally one alternate representative.

Retired Member: Classification as a Retired Member of the Association, at the discretion of the Council, may be granted to Members of the Association who have retired from active working life and are of good standing at the time of their retirement. The interpretation of active working life will be at the discretion of the Council.

Refusal or Cessation of Membership Rights

The Council absolutely holds and retains the right to refuse any person any category of Membership of the Association, and absolutely holds and retains the right to remove from Membership any person who in the opinion of Council is unsuitable for Membership or brings the Association or the profession into disrepute.

Votes and Rights of Members

The following categories of membership shall be entitled to voting rights as Members of the Association and shall be eligible for nomination and election as an Officer of the Association:-

General Members
Medical Members
Honorary Fellows
Retired Members

The following categories do not have voting rights as Members of the Association nor shall be eligible for nomination or election as an Officer of the Association:

Pre-registrants
Corporate Members *
Affiliates

*note The Trade Representative on Council shall have voting rights in Council Meetings, equivalent to those rights assigned to General Members of Council.

Subscriptions

The membership year will be 1st November to 31st October.
The Treasurer shall notify the membership of annual subscription rates on or before 1st November. Any member who fails to renew their subscription by 31st December will cease to be a member of the Association and forfeit all benefits and rights therewith. No member shall be entitled to a refund of any portion of subscription on termination of membership. Retired members and Honorary Fellows shall be entitled to a waiver of annual subscription fees.

The Council

The Association shall be controlled and governed by an elected Council, the membership of which shall be drawn exclusively from currently eligible members of the Association, excepting that the Office of President of the Association may be held by an individual not otherwise holding membership of the Association.

The Council shall comprise the following individuals:

the Officers of the Association
six elected General Members of Council
one Trade Representative (nominated from the representatives of the Corporate Members, at the discretion of Council)
such other individual(s) as may be deemed necessary by the Council for the essential business of the Association

Council Members (Officers):

The Officers of the Council shall comprise the following Officers of the Association:

President
Chairman
Chairman-elect
Honorary Secretary
Honorary Treasurer

Council Members (General Members):

There will be six elected General Members of Council, of which four must be elected from the Registered Members and two must be elected from the Medical Members of the Association (including for these purposes Honorary Fellows and Retired Members).

President:

The Association in annual General meeting (AGM) may, on the recommendation of Council, invite a person to hold office of President of the Association for a period of office of three years duration. The President shall be eligible to attend all committees and meetings of the Association.

Chairman:

The Office of Chairman will be automatically assumed by the currently serving Chairman-elect, following their two-year tenure in that post. The Office of Chairman will be held for two years. The Chairman will not be eligible for re-election (to the Office of Chairman-elect) until a further two years have elapsed. Following his/her period of office the immediate past Chairman will be invited to council meetings and act as a deputy to the Chairman or Chairman-elect in their absence. This will also be for a period of two years duration until the next rotation.

Chairman-Elect:

The Office of Chairman-elect will be held for two years. The Chairman-elect will become Chairman at the second AGM following his/her election. Persons eligible for nomination and election for the Office of Chairman-elect (and hence subsequently assuming the Office of Chairman) shall be drawn exclusively from Members of the Association holding one of the following categories of membership:

Registered General Members
Honorary Fellows previously Registered Members
Retired Members previously Registered Members

Unavailability of Chairman-elect for office of Chairman:

Should the serving Chairman-elect, at the end of their two-year period of tenure of that office, be unable, unwilling or ineligible to automatically assume the Office of Chairman, the Council retains the right in such exceptional circumstances to either:

request that the term of office of the normally retiring Chairman of the Association be extended by a period of one additional year

or

identify an eligible alternative member of the Association who would be willing and able to assume the position of Chairman for a period of one year

but in either case that the period in question not be more than one year or until the next Annual General Meeting of the Association. In such exceptional circumstances the Council shall without delay, notify in writing the membership of the Association of their decision in this regard.

Honorary Secretary / Honorary Treasurer:

The Offices of Honorary Secretary and Honorary Treasurer shall be appointed or re-appointed by the membership at each Annual General Meeting. Persons serving in the Offices of Honorary Secretary and Honorary Treasurer are eligible for re-election, should they be so willing, an indefinite number of times.
In circumstances where a person has indicated their desire to be considered for the Office of Honorary Secretary or Honorary Treasurer, such intentions shall be made known initially to the Council and thereafter to the membership.

In circumstances where more than one individual desires to hold the Office of either Honorary Secretary or Honorary Treasurer, the serving Honorary Secretary shall initiate a postal ballot of eligible members of the Association to select one of the nominees. The appointment shall be ratified by the membership at the next AGM.

General Members of Council:

The General Members of Council shall be elected to serve for a period of two years.
The General Members of Council shall normally comprise four Registered Members and two Medical Members of the Association.
Following a period of office, General Members are eligible for immediate re-election, under the standard procedures of election within the Association.

Co-opted Members of Council:

The Council holds and retains the right to invite any suitable individual recognised as a Member of the Association or otherwise and as may be deemed necessary by the Council to be a Co-opted Member of Council for the purposes of supporting the essential business of the Association.

Co-opted Members may be invited to participate in single or multiple meetings of Council and for fixed or open-ended periods of time but shall in all circumstances be considered and accepted as limited members of Council and only and in extremis until such time as the next AGM of the Association.

Co-opted members of Council shall in all circumstances be considered to be invited (unelected) members of Council and to whom no rights and privileges of voting on matters of Council business are extended (other than those as would be applicable as ordinary Members of the Association, as appropriate).

Trade Representative on Council:

Corporate Members of the Association may, by discussion within their number and across all involved parties, nominate one person who must be either a Primary or alternate representative of one of the Corporate Members, to act in the role of Trade Representative on Council.

Nomination of a Trade Representative shall from be a different Corporate Member of the Association from that which supplied the current (or if no current) immediately preceding Trade Representative on Council.
The person nominated (assuming that person and their Corporate Member sponsor accept such nomination) shall, on acceptance and ratification by the existing Council, be eligible to attend all meetings of Council and shall have voting rights on Council matters which are equivalent to those afforded to General Members of Council.

The term of office for the Trade Representative shall be two years from the date of their election (ratification). Following their period of office, the individual Trade Representative shall not be eligible for re-election, nor shall another representative from that Corporate Member be eligible, until a period of at least one further year has elapsed.

Key support roles:

The Council holds and retains the right to appoint individual Members of the Association (or in exceptional circumstances individuals who are not Members of the Association) to hold key support roles within the Association.

Whilst the requirement for key support roles will, by necessity, change from time to time, the Association recognises the likely requirement for any or all of the following (non-exhaustive) roles:

Conference co-ordinator
Deputy Conference co-ordinator Trade Liaison Officer
Journal Editor
Website manager (‘webmaster')

The Council holds and retains the right to invite any person in a key support role to attend any or all meetings of Council for the purposes of reporting on or advising on particular issues from time to time. Involvement of such individuals shall be deemed to be equivalent to a co-option of that individual (i.e. without the rights to vote on Council business being conferred) except in so far as there being no absolute requirement for the ratification of the role or of the current holder of the role by the membership at each AGM.

Concurrency of Office:

No person shall serve more than one position of Office concurrently, nor shall any person serve concurrently as an Officer of and General Member of Council, except in as much as no restriction is placed on an Officer or General Member of Council being also concurrently a holder of a key support role.

Council Meetings:

Notice of Council meetings should be given in writing (electronic mail being an acceptable substitute) at least thirty-one days before the due date, exceptional circumstances not withstanding.
The business of Council in meeting cannot commence or be considered proper until at least a representative quorum of the Council of the Association are present.
For these purposes, a quorum shall be defined as being at least three elected General Members of Council of either, the Chairman or Chairman-elect, plus at least two others who must be elected General Members.

The Chairman of Council (if present) shall be the Chair of the Meeting. Should the Chairman of Council not be present, then the Chairman-elect shall be the Chair of the Meeting for part or the duration of the meeting.

Minutes of the Meeting shall be properly recorded at all times by the Honorary Secretary of the Council or in their absence, by another duly authorised person designated as Minute Secretary to the Meeting.
Minutes of the Meeting shall include as a minimum:

a list of those present at the meeting
a list of those from whom apologies for absence were received
the identity of the Chair of the Meeting
the identity of the Minute Secretary to the Meeting
the venue, start and finish time of the meeting
the main business of the meeting
the result of all votes held during the meeting
action points from the meeting, as required

To facilitate the accuracy of recording of Minutes of the Meeting, the use of audio recording devices in addition to note-taking is permissible, providing that the use of such devices is acknowledged by those present and that all such devices are at all times used only in clear sight of all those present.

Voting at Council Meetings:

The following persons shall be eligible to vote at meetings of Council:

Any and all Officers of the Council so present
Any and all elected General Members of Council so present
The Trade Representative on Council if so present

In circumstances whereby a vote is required to determine the most appropriate course of action following a proposal, the Chair of the meeting shall initiate a request for a “show of hands” from members as for, against and abstaining from the proposal. The result of the show of hands vote shall be recorded by the Honorary Secretary (or other authorised person acting as Minute Secretary to the Meeting) in the Minutes of the Meeting as the total number recorded in each of the three categories above.

In circumstances whereby the result of the vote causes there to be equal numbers of votes in both the for, and against categories, the Chair of the Meeting shall be afforded the right of one additional, deciding vote.

Committees and Sub-Committees

Council shall have the power to establish any committee or sub-committee that is required for the efficient and economical running of the Association with the proviso that committee or sub-committee decisions be subsequently ratified by Council. Officers of the Association shall be ex-officio members of all committees and sub-committees.

The membership of the Association shall, at each AGM, approve and ratify the continuation of each committee and sub-committee as being required, representative and essential to the continued business of the Association.

Elections

Eligibility: Elements of the Council of Members of the Association shall, when required, be elected by the membership who are at the time eligible to nominate and vote in elections.

All fully paid-up Registered, Medical or Retired Members and Honorary Fellows who are in good standing shall be eligible for election to Council.

There will be two available nominations, one for the position of Chairman-elect (each two years) and one for General Member(s) of Council (as required).

A nominee can accept concurrent nomination for one position only (i.e. either Chairman-elect OR General Member of Council).

Nomination procedures:

The Honorary Secretary shall send to every eligible Member of the Association the necessary nomination form(s) not less than sixty days before the next AGM.

Eligible persons wishing to nominate a member of the Association for a position on Council must complete the appropriate nomination form and send it directly to the nominee.

Should the nominee accept the nomination they must sign accepting nomination and return the form to the Honorary Secretary, to arrive no later than forty days before the AGM.

Voting Procedures:

In circumstances where only one eligible person is nominated (and has accepted nomination) for a vacant position, that person shall be deemed to be elected.

In circumstances where more than one person has been nominated (and have accepted nomination) for a vacant position, election shall be by means of a postal ballot of eligible members.

Ballots:

In circumstances where a postal ballot is required, the Honorary Secretary shall send to eligible members, at least twenty-five days prior to the AGM, ballot papers showing a list(s) of eligible nominees for each vacancy. Each member is entitled to cast one vote for the position of Chairman-elect (each two years) and up to three votes for the position(s) of General Members of Council (as required). Completed ballot forms must be returned to arrive by 12 noon seven days prior to the AGM. Ballot forms received after this time will be ineligible.

The Honorary Secretary shall be responsible for ensuring that all ballot counts are carried out in a fair and proper manner. The Honorary Secretary will employ the services of two independent tellers who have no connection with, or relationship to the Association, or anyone related to a member of the Association.

Any ballot form the independent tellers deem spoilt shall be put aside and not considered.

The person receiving the highest number of votes shall be elected to the vacancy.

The announcement of successful election shall be made at AGM.

Cessation of Association Activities:

Should circumstances arise whereby the activities of the Association shall necessarily be entirely terminated or the Association shall be otherwise disbanded all current assets, outstanding credits and debts plus all goods and chattels of the Association at the time of cessation shall be identified as soon as is practicable.

Under such circumstances, the Association shall make all reasonable efforts to ensure the timely payment or other settlement of all outstanding debts of the Association from the current assets, goods and chattels plus shall make all reasonable efforts to collect all monies owed from debtors.

On reasonable completion of such settlements and collections, all remaining realisable assets of the Association shall be disposed of through donations to bodies officially registered in the UK as charitable organisations and whose aims and general purposes are consistent with those of the Association.