Domiciliary: Home safety

Many of the people most vulnerable to Covid-19 in the UK are dependent on domiciliary services for their eye care needs. Consequently, the domiciliary sector continues to be among the areas of optics most affected by the pandemic. In this article Optician speaks to representatives of three major providers of domiciliary eye care about how the companies dealt with the first lockdown, staff experiences with patients and what opportunities are available in the domiciliary sector now.

With patient safety in mind, domiciliary providers were swift to shut down services in advance of the official lockdown on March 23.

‘When dealing with a largely elderly demographic, patient safety and welfare has always been of paramount importance and it has been even more so through this unprecedented and challenging period,’ says Nick Wingate, director of professional services at OutsideClinic. ‘OutsideClinic took the swift decision prior to confirmation of a lockdown to review procedures and postpone routine home visits.’