A growing Medical Retina service at a Newport opticians is helping ease pressure on hospital eye services as more team members gain specialist qualifications.
Eye care services in Wales continue to be under immense pressure – as of June 2025, there were 162,286 patient pathways (R1), categorised as at risk of irreversible sight loss, waiting for an outpatient appointment.
Specsavers Spytty Road delivers Medical Retina services, with lead optometrist Nick Campbell monitoring and managing complex conditions such as diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration.
Now, optometrist Kimberley Waters, named Optometry Wales’ Pre-registration Optometrist of the Year in 2023, has joined him in delivering the service.
Ms Waters recently completed her Professional Certificate in Medical Retina and is progressing through the Independent Prescribing qualification.
Alongside her clinical role, she is supervising pre-registration optometrists at the store
Together, Mr Campbell and Ms Waters can assess, diagnose and manage more cases in the community, supporting earlier intervention and helping relieve pressure on overstretched NHS services.
Ms Waters says:
“Giving people access to advanced eye care locally is really rewarding, especially at a time when demand on NHS eye services is higher than ever.
“By seeing customers quickly in-store, we can often prevent their condition from worsening and reduce the need for a hospital appointment.
“I’m also passionate about mentoring our pre-registration optometrists because building the next generation of clinicians is vital to supporting the changing needs of optometry care in our communities.”
