Optician Awards: Contact lens king

^{Marc Drake’s Contact Lens Practitioner of the Year Award being collected by colleague Elinor Hobby}

Marc Drake, director and lead independent prescribing optometrist at Penarth-based Osmond Drake Opticians, won the Contact Lens Practitioner of the Year category at the 2023 Optician Awards. The third generation to own Osmond Drake Opticians after his father and grandfather, Drake has propelled the contact lens department from fitting standard lenses to becoming the go-to for specialist lenses, including orthokeratology and keratoconic lenses.

Drake has completed numerous courses over the years to hone his knowledge and skills in every type of contact lens product from rigid gas permeable and orthokeratology to specialist products. He acquired a topographer and optical coherence tomography (OCT) device in 2012 and first fitted staff members with contact lenses before progressing to offering the services to patients.