Look local: Bradford steps up to the challenge

Since the 19th century, when European merchants established Bradford’s identity in the wool textile industry, the city has been home to communities from Jewish, Eastern European, Indian sub-continent, and African mass immigrations to west Yorkshire.

Local optometrist at Eyecare opticians, Dr Stewart Mitchell, says: ‘Social deprivation is an issue in Bradford and often the best option of eye care is outside the patient’s budget. We deal with a number of patients where English is a second language. Getting local patients to be completely aware of eye care costs, pathology and the urgency of the problem is often an issue. We also see some quite elderly patients who are having issues with loss of independence. The set fees for seeing patients via GOS do not compensate for the time it takes to care for elderly patients.’