The Myopia Management Award
sponsored by CooperVision
Winner: Deven Lakhani, Hammond Opticians
Finalists:
• Central Vision Opticians
• Lynne Fernandes Optometrists
• Tompkins, Knight & Son Optometrists
Enfield-based Hammond Opticians was shortlisted in 2023 for the Myopia Management Award. Despite not winning that year, the practice was undeterred and re-entered the Optician Awards in 2024.
Now, as a winner, Deven Lakhani, director and optometrist at the independent practice, tells Optician he feels very privileged.
‘I knew most of the practices in the shortlist and they’re all fantastic practitioners, so when my name was announced, it was just amazing. I felt completely on a high. It’s only because somebody who was on the table with us videoed me collecting the award that I know that I actually walked up and I didn’t stumble. In terms of my professional career, it’s probably the highlight,’ Lakhani adds.
Lakhani attended the awards ceremony with his wife and let the rest of the practice team know their achievement, who were waiting for the news at home. The practice’s Christmas party a few days later turned into a bumper celebration at a local restaurant.
‘We are a fully private practice, so people are choosing to pay to see us. It’s awards like this that help people feel confident that they’ve made the right decision,’ Lakhani says.
Building a service
Lakhani says lockdown during the pandemic afforded him time to think about the practice’s future and it was then that he decided to increase his focus on myopia management.
Already offering orthokeratology, the practice added VTI’s NaturalVue and Mylo by Mark’ennovy to its contact lens offering. Then Hoya launched its MiyoSmart ophthalmic lens, which meant Hammond Opticians could offer a range of options to patients.
‘About 60% of our myopia management kids are on night lenses but we can now offer an alternative for people who don’t want contact lenses and make sure that the right method of myopia management is offered to the individual.’
He shares the story of one patient, who first came to the practice when she was seven and was a gymnast for the county and swam for her local school. She was wearing single vision lenses when she came to the practice, but after Lakhani spoke to the patient and her parents, she started wearing night lenses which meant she could continue doing her activities without the need for vision correction during the day.
Excellence in care
Lakhani adds that investing in a biometer for ortho-k is essential to providing excellence in myopia care, as well as undertaking courses such as those offered at Glasgow Caledonian University.
Making sure patients are equipped with all the necessary information is another must for Lakhani when providing myopia management services.
‘It’s a three-way conversation and I try to make sure that the child buys into things like lifestyle and behavioural changes because, as I say to them, I can do everything in my power to help them and their parents are paying, so this is their part of the bargain that they need to do,’ he says.
Lakhani has made an effort to extend these conversations in communities by attending schools to raise awareness of myopia.
‘I offer a completely free, no obligation conversation with any parent and child, who has concerns about myopia, even if they then choose not to come to us. If we’re not the right people for you, it’s absolutely fine but just make sure you listen and understand what I’ve said and act upon it, because the worst thing you can do is nothing.’
