The many ways Specsavers is leading the way in Optometry

“It’s feeling like part of a family and your community.”

After working in independent practices for a while, I was specifically looking for opportunities at Specsavers. It felt like a place I’d feel very at home. I liked the buzz of the stores and the way they worked, so I was happy when a role came up. That was over 22 years ago. In that time, I’ve been an optometrist and then a director. I feel very grateful that I've been on this journey with Specsavers. They’ve taken me out of my comfort zone and developed my confidence.

Six years ago, my partner and I opened a store in Maghull, in Sefton and we’re looking forward to opening a third store next year in Prescot. We've got great teams in both stores that have a very positive, supportive attitude to each other. We've all got each other's backs and look for ways to help one another.

Learning from each other

We’re here to support the development of team members as much as they want it. We’ve had people who started as optical assistants, who’ve gone on to become dispensing opticians. One of our dispensing opticians is now at Bradford University to do the one-year intensive conversion course to become an optometrist. She'll be coming back to us next September. It's been really rewarding over the years to see people go on those journeys.

Just over a year ago, we became a hub for Hearcare and we partnered with an audiologist for that side of the business. So, I’m trying to develop my own experience as well, within the Hearcare side of things. I’m really curious about hearing and how we can help people. I want to build my skills in this area.

Driving a better future for eyecare

There are some remarkable people in this organisation, and I really feel like we're leading the way in optometry. For example, we’re involved in schemes which extend the services available for our customers. Our Maghull store is in one of only three places in the UK that’s part of the Optometry First scheme. We offer CUES (Community Urgent Eyecare Service) and MECS (Minor Eye Conditions Service) to allow easier and more timely access to eye care for patients with eye conditions both urgent and chronic, without the need to travel to the hospital and sit in a waiting area for long periods. In addition, we are involved with glaucoma referral refinement schemes and cataract shared care. We hope to be involved with glaucoma and macula degeneration shared care as it develops. These services help reduce the burden on our overloaded hospitals and give our clinicians a greater opportunity to utilise our clinical skills.

Being part of the community

There is a real sense of community in the work we do too. We have customers come back time and again. They know your name and you pick up from where you left off at their last appointment. There’s such a great atmosphere and camaraderie within the team. It feels really satisfying to serve the community and build that reputation. I think we have the ability at Specsavers to deliver for people and move things forwards in terms of eyecare. We’re leaning into the future in a very positive, courageous way and I'm proud to be part of that.