Despite being a new category for 2017, Audiology Practice of the Year had several strong entrants. After the judges’ deliberations, it was a straight fight between the independent partnership of Davies and Jones Optometrists and Malmo Hearing and the well-oiled machine of Specsavers Wellingborough and Nottingham stores.
In the end, it was the Welsh independents the judging panel warmed to most, with the dedication to providing personalised care standing out among the entries.
Audiology has been a burgeoning part of the optical landscape for several years, but penetration in the independent sector has remained relatively low, with multiples able to train staff in-house and utilise slick marketing departments.
This was the situation Davies and Jones Optometrists faced just over 10 years ago. Optometrist and company director Andrew Hobby says the company considered offering hearing care when the multiples began dabbling with the service.
By chance, the practice was approached by Mal Johnstone of Malmo Hearing, a company run with wife, Maureen. Mal suggested that running a hearing clinic in the practice would bring the best elements of each business together in a symbiotic manner. With lingering concerns over the time it would take to train a member of staff and the intricacies of a new sector, the partnership made perfect sense to Hobby.
While Davies and Jones had been a fixture in the Rhondda Valley for decades, Malmo Hearing was a new entity to the area when it arrived in the Treorchy practice. Hobby says Johnstone provided in-depth training and background information to all the practice staff on the nature of the hearing aids supplied.
The hearing clinics, which began from scratch, ran alongside the optometry sessions, and soon went from one day a fortnight in one location to one a week in other practices. An extra staff member was drafted due to the increase in footfall.
‘The quality of the hearing based services provided by Malmo mirrors and complements those available from Davies and Jones,’ says Hobby. ‘This is of particular relevance to patients suffering from dual sensory loss.’
Services available to patients include free hearing assessments, demonstrations of new hearing aid technology, manufacturer agnostic repairs, hearing protection and micro-suction ear wax removal. It also supplies hearing aid accessories and assistive devices for the hard of hearing, such as hearing aid compatible telephones.
Patients receive free unlimited lifetime aftercare on their hearing aids, which includes hearing reassessments, fine tuning of hearing aids, rehabilitation and follow up appointments, scheduled within one week of the initial hearing aid fitting.
Home visits are available for less able patients and are seen as soon as possible – usually within a week of the patient getting in contact. It is a regular occurrence for the audiologists to collect a faulty hearing aid on the commute into the office and then drop the repaired device off to the client on the commute home – something that provides that extra layer of independent customer service.
Adding to the personal experience and based on Malmo’s understanding that those suffering from hearing loss are often not confident on the telephone, the company also offers a mobile phone and social media contact service, where patients can get in touch regarding queries.
Hobby says audiology services within the Davies and Jones practices are still growing, despite continued expansion into the sector by multiples. Malmo now has a screening both with iPad-based testing software, which drives footfall and increases awareness of an issue that many people are reluctant to do anything about. Malmo Hearing has recently been appointed as a supplier for NHS hearing aid batteries, which brings in a significant number of people into the practice.
Both facets of the business were able to enjoy the Optician Awards ceremony on April 1 at the Birmingham Hilton Metropole as Davies and Jones was also a finalist in the Optical Assistant Team of the Year category.
‘Being up against two Specsavers practices with well-drilled operations behind them meant it was a massive surprise when our entry was announced as the winner,’ says Hobby. ‘Being recognised in such a way was such a fantastic feeling on the night.’ Patient feedback to the awards accolade was equally rewarding.
The Optician Award trophy has spent the past six months with Malmo Hearing, but Hobby says there is a date in the diary for when it returns to Davies and Jones. Post event marketing has been kept more low key than anticipated because of the trophy being shown off Malmo, but this will change when it returns to the practice, when window branding will be put in place and social media activity ramped up.
Audiology practice of the year 2017
Winner: Davies & Jones Optometrists
Shortlisted:
Specsavers Nottingham
Specsavers Wellingborough