Going that 'extra mile' is a force of habit for staff at Specsavers South Shields, according to practice manager Melanie Moore. Since it opened 15 years ago, the practice team has worked hard to forge strong relationships with local GPs, businesses and schools. It was this dedication that earned the practice the 2006 Optician Award for Community Involvement.
The Specsavers South Shields team has been encouraged to take 'personal ownership' for the community eye care they provide. Optometrists are encouraged to phone patients following an acute referral, while optical assistants are asked to keep a record of any patients who have had past problems with fitting, so they can be offered reassurance.
Eye care promotion
The practice has been incredibly active in promoting eye care in the community. In 2005, the practice developed a corporate eye care programme, which involved contacting local businesses and informing them of the services offered. Staff even go so far as to visit businesses and assess the eye care needs of their employees. 'We make it easy for employers,' explains Moore. 'We visit them and we look at what their employees need - it actually involves very little work for them.'
Businesses are invited to purchase vouchers from the practice and distribute them to their employees. 'We then help these employees decide on the most appropriate eyewear,' she says.
Practice staff also make a point of visiting schools and educating the younger members of the community.
'We have developed a schools programme,' Moore says. 'We photographed a child's journey to an optician and turned it into a picture storyboard. The photographs are of a little girl having her eyes tested, and they show the whole process. During these visits the children are also able to touch contact lenses and spectacles. We show them that a trip to the opticians is nothing to be scared of.'
Low vision and charity work
The practice has also employed a low vision co-ordinator. This role has been taken on by a clinical assistant who now works in tandem with South Tyneside Council. 'We often get people coming in for eye tests and find that there is very little that we can do for them. So our low vision co-ordinator will sit down with that person, talk to them about their condition and ask a few more questions. Then the co-ordinator will directly refer that person to the council for occupational therapy around the home. She works with social services to try and improve that person's life,' Moore says.
In addition to this, Moore arranges for eye information leaflets to be placed in the waiting rooms at local GP surgeries, and she also writes a monthly eye care column for the South Shields Gazette. The team is also very active in charity work - most recently they collected around 140 pairs of patients' old spectacles for Vision Aid Overseas, which were then distributed in Goa, India. Staff have also donated their time to other charities including Breast Cancer UK and St Clare's Hospice.
But it is not just the community to which Specsavers South Shields is devoted. A great deal of time is spent in supporting staff through education and training to help them develop their skills. The practice has achieved the 'Investors In People' standard. This is a nationally recognised standard, which businesses can only achieve by meeting a set of criteria. The criteria cover a range of areas including leadership, communication, staff management and staff training and development. Specsavers South Shields first achieved the standard in 1999, and has retained that status through two further assessments.
'We aim to ensure our employees meet their potential. So we encourage them to undertake training and gain qualifications - as this can make a job so much more satisfying,' says Moore.
'I think because we are a mature business in town we have lots of opportunities to become involved in the community, and of course it does make life more interesting for staff.
'We were absolutely over the moon to receive the award. We take a great amount of pride in our work, and we also do a lot of charity work, so it was nice to know that all our hard work is recognised and seen as worthwhile.
'The awards night was great, and it gave us an opportunity for networking. We had posters made up afterwards, we were so proud, and we wanted our customers to know about it too.'
