Wedged between Cardigan Bay and the Cambrian mountains sits the ‘unofficial capital of mid-Wales’, Aberystwyth. The historic market town turned holiday resort is well loved for its sea front, Edwardian buildings and popular university. With the nearest cities at least an hour-and-a-half drive away, it is up to Aberystwyth’s optical practices to deliver all eye care services to residents in both the town and its surrounding areas.
‘Aberystwyth is the best known secret in the world, people don’t tend to leave,’ says Clive Williams, who owns the only independent practice in the town. ‘There’s lots to do here, lots of theatre and entertainment, and you can go running and golfing. The town is great fun for those living outdoor lives.’
Williams set up his house practice in 1982, and although both the town and optometry has dramatically changed, his practice is still very successful. ‘It was always my goal not to have a commercial set up, for one we weren’t even allowed to advertise in the paper when we first opened. To this day we mostly get referrals from other patients rather than having paid for advertisements.’
More multiples have moved into the town since Williams first started practising, so why have the independents not followed? He says: ‘I don’t think the town is large enough to support any other practices. If another did open, they would need local knowledge. We’re a bilingual practice and do 40-50% of our tests in Welsh, which helps.’
Aberystwyth has an older population than the Welsh average, which means greater pressure on optical practices. ‘Nearly everybody I see is over 60. But we have to cater for all ages when it comes to frames, especially during term time when we have students walking in. We try to stock designer brands and they do sell, but most of our customers go for comfortable lightweight frames like Stepper.’
It is a similar story at the town’s Specsavers branch. Store director Graham Park (pictured left) says: ‘We all know what’s happening to the population, there’s more of us oldies. But we do have a nice contrast with the students which we love, they bring a sense of vibrancy to us and offer balance with the older patients.’
Park says the key to success in a town like Aberystwyth is community. ‘The rural community are quite old school and like continuity. I’m very comfortable with this and appreciate it, they want to see the same practitioners.’
Recruitment has been problematic, leading Park to set up his own sponsorship scheme. ‘We sponsor OOs and DOs through university as it is increasingly difficult to recruit. For every year I sponsor them, they are contractually obliged to work a year in the practice. I’m very proud of how it’s worked, it will be my legacy and the joy I have got out of that has been wonderful,’ he says.
Who’s in town?
Total: 4
Independents: 1
Multiples: 3
Average cost
Prices for an eye examination range from £23 to £25. The average cost is £24.
Population - see pie chart
Ceredigion population: 75,900 (2011) Aberystwyth: 13,040
Community eye care
Eye care services in Aberystwyth are provided by WECS (Welsh Eyecare Services) in urgent eye problems and low vision.
Health and affluence
- The average house price in Aberystwyth is £179,783 (Rightmove, 2016) compared with an average of £216,750 for England and Wales (Land Registry, 2016).
- NHS expenditure on vision problems in Ceredigion per person is £106, compared with the UK average of £89 (RNIB Sight Loss Data Tool 2015).
- 620 patients live in Ceredigion with wet AMD and 300 with dry AMD (RNIB).
- There are about 960 people living in Ceredigion who have cataract, 640 people with glaucoma and 5,110 with diabetes. Some 1,570 patients have diabetic retinopathy according to RNIB figures.
Fun facts
The Crown Jewels were kept in Aberystwyth during World War II.
A large air-conditioned cave also provided a WWII safe haven for Shakespeare documents and a copy of Magna Carta.
Aberystwyth was the last town in Britain to have a steam operated train line as ran by the nationalised British Rail organisation.
An Iron Age hill fort was built on the hilltops above Aberystwyth. The castle was used by Owain Glyndwr in 1404.
Aberystwyth is home to the longest furnicular railway in Britain, built in 1896.
Aberystwyth students held the world record in 2009 for the largest gathering of people in their underwear.
