Three Specsavers teams in Wales have been honoured for looking after eye health by Specsavers founders Doug and Dame Mary Perkins.
Optometrists Dyfan Jones and Sarra Lau are two of only six Specsavers optometrists from across the UK to be awarded the Doug Perkins medal for clinical excellence – with Sarra being the only Home Visits clinician recognised.
Mr Perkins said:
“Specsavers’ mission is to change lives through better sight and hearing. This year’s winners are all shining examples of how our optometrists and audiologists do that every day. Congratulations to all of them.”
Dyfan, ophthalmic director at Specsavers Porthmadog, was nominated for going above and beyond in providing community eyecare.
He said:
“Additional qualifications and enhancing my scope of practice has made my daily routine much more interesting. More importantly it means we can reduce pressure on hospital services and bring health care closer to patient's homes. I’m fortunate to have supportive teams at both stores.
“We became the first Advanced Teaching Practice in North Wales for Health Improvement Wales (HEIW) last year and will continue to train the next cohort of clinicians towards higher qualifications. It’s an honour to be recognised through this award and work alongside such a fantastic team.”
Sarra, optometrist in the Specsavers Gwent Home Visits team, said:
“Winning this award is a real privilege. During the pandemic, I witnessed how many people were unable to access essential eye care due to physical and mental barriers. This inspired me to venture into the world of domiciliary optometry, allowing me to bring high quality eye examinations directly into patient's homes.
“Last year I was proud to start a mobile independent prescribing service for my local health board in South Wales. This has allowed me to prescribe medication and treat patients in their homes who would otherwise need ambulance transportation to receive essential care. Mobile optometry is often unpredictable and challenging, but it is also incredibly rewarding.”
The team at Specsavers Colwyn Bay were also winners, recognised for their customer service excellence.
Over the past two years they have raised money in store for two of their younger patients. They helped Henry, who was diagnosed with Leukaemia, to fulfil his ambition to visit Disneyland in Florida. They also raised money for patient Rhea who – after a routine eye exam and referral by one of the firm's optometrists – was successfully treated for a brain tumour.
Andrew Deeley, optometry partner at Specsavers Colwyn Bay, said:
“Fundraising for our community is one of many reasons why we enjoy what we do and why it is so rewarding working here.
“Clinical excellence is core to our success, and we encourage our clinical team to constantly keep up to date with training and regularly provide funding and support to complete higher certification courses. It’s always inspiring to see how the team handle challenges with grace, and the support and care they have for each other. This award recognises what a brilliant team we have at Colwyn Bay and the excellent customer care we provide.”
The winners received £1,000 in prize money and attended a celebration dinner at the Grand Hotel in Birmingham, held in their honour.
They received their medals on stage at the Specsavers Professional Advancement Conference (PAC) held at the ICC in Birmingham. PAC has been running for more than 30 years and has become one of the largest and most valued clinical conferences for Optometry and Audiology professionals in the UK and Ireland.
