Lynne Fernandes Optometrists has three practices across the Bristol area: in Wells Road, Gloucester Road and Nailsea. The practice in Wells Road has been a fixture in the area for more than 80 years and was taken over by its current owners, Lynne and Gerard Fernandes, in 2000. It has been a runner up in various categories at the Optician Awards many times, eventually taking home the prize this year.
Gerard Fernandes, optometrist and co-director of Lynne Fernandes Optometrists, was influenced by his own optician to get into optometry.
He says: ‘I was looking for a clinical career that offered me the chance to interact with people and positively impact their lives. Also, a career that would allow me to control my future, with respect to work, life, family and income. I had a great contact lens optician as a teenager and in my twenties but didn’t realise his profession. It was on meeting Lynne after university that she explained that optometrists were different. That sounded interesting, and then research suggested an interesting career. I then decided to study optometry as a mature student at Aston.’
Having entered the awards previously and Lynne Fernandes winning the award for Optometrist of the Year at the Optician Awards in 2016, entering this year was a given.
‘This year our practice manager was absolutely determined to go one better, particularly with the friendly rivalry between our three sites hotting up,’ Fernandes says.
The practice spends a lot of time focusing on families from generation to generation, as it is a key part of what makes the business work and its appeal to patients.
‘We look after people throughout all stages of life starting with routine eye examinations, then offering our own enhanced services from dyslexia assessments, myopia control in the young to glaucoma monitoring, lid hygiene as we age,’ says Fernandes. ‘Our families trust us to consider and offer advice based on our interpretation of the best evidence. They trust us to employ people who put individuals first. Patients can see the investment we put into our teams and know that means we will look after them.’
Lynne Fernandes Optometrists is so well known in the Bristol area that BBC Radio Bristol has frequently asked members of staff to appear on shows to answer queries about eyes or to discuss vision or eye health. Lynne Fernandes has also made an appearance on My First on CBeebies, where she performed an eye examination and explained to children what happens at the opticians. The practice was approached by the BBC to take part and optical advisor Natasha Barrow organised the appearance. Fernandes believes that these two experiences have undoubtedly raised the profile of the practice. ‘Both occurred due to a team member’s initial thought being “yes, why not, I’ll ask.”’
The practice is very keen on educating children about optometry and the importance of eye health, as the team regularly attend secondary school careers fairs. Primary school children are often invited in to the practice for a morning to learn about what an eye examination entails, what it is like to wear glasses and how low vision affects people. The team like to go out to visit primary schools when they can and have also participated in National Eye Health Week with the optometrists giving a presentation on how to help your eyes last a lifetime.
The awards ceremony itself was a great experience for the members of staff that attended, and they were all very positive about their entry. He says: ‘The whole team effort for the award entry was coordinated by Kate Miller, our practice manager. We all helped, our optometrists to our OAs and DOs, but she was the one who implemented it. It was an excellent entry. However, there are many excellent independent optometry practices in the UK so while we knew we had a chance, we were over the moon to actually win the award.’
The team communicated their win to their patients very quickly. Fernandes says: ‘It was on social media as soon as we sat back down at the table. We use the winner logo on all our publicity. I’m surprised still how often it is brought up in conversation six months later and in Lynne’s case, two years later.’
