Specsavers in Bedford was the second of the multiple’s UK stores to introduce an audiology department some 12 years ago. The Hearing Centre was launched as a joint venture partnership with the optical side of the business in response to Bedfordshire’s high demographic of older people. Around 90 per cent of the practice’s patients today have age-related hearing loss.
Aekta Patel, joint venture partner at the Bedford Hearing Centre, says Specsavers launched its audiology service to break down the barriers and taboos associated with hearing aids and to make services more convenient, affordable and accessible for patients.
‘It is Specsavers’ culture to break down barriers and just as sight tests used to be carried out in hospitals around 30 years ago, we have brought hearing services from hospitals to the high street. It seemed natural to have another part of your health check done in store and patients feel more relaxed in a retail environment compared to hospitals,’ she says.
In most cases patients can be fitted with a hearing aid in one hour appointments – the practice aims to fit 85% to 90% of patients on the same day – compared to having to wait for two to four weeks to be fitted at the hospital. Specsavers’ recipe for success is evidently working. While optics continues to be the most profitable side of the business– the Bedford store is a top-20 Specsavers practice in the UK – the hearcare service has experienced the most growth. Turnover has increased by 50% year on year over the past three years.
‘Patients tell us they love the service. They come in for regular sight tests and ask if they can book a hearing test at the same time. We are conveniently located on the high street, parking is easier and cheaper and we are always on time with our appointments,’ says Patel (pictured left).
NHS contract
A big component of the practice’s success has been securing an Any Qualified Provider (AQP) contract four years ago, alongside the Luton Specsavers store, which enables the practices to provide NHS hearing tests and aids to over 55-year-olds with hospitals and alongside the private side of the business. Patel says the contract, which has just been renewed for a further three years, has ‘completely turned the business over’ due to the volume of NHS patients.
The Bedford Hearing Centre team, comprising four audiologists and two locums, currently tests and fits hearing aids for an equal number of private patients aged from 18 years and NHS patients aged from 55 years. Patel says she would welcome NHS plans to move audiology services from hospitals to the high street because it gives patients more choice and takes the pressure off hospitals with long lead times.
‘We are always trying to emphasise that we offer exactly the same hearing services for private and NHS patients. The only difference is between the products available.
‘Fortunately, we have been able to put pressure on the NHS to offer a better basic hearing aid and our customers have said that being upgraded to a better product has made a real difference to their lives,’ says Patel.
High tech kit at affordable prices
For patients seeking more choice in hearing aids than those offered by the NHS, Specsavers offers a wide selection of products in various sizes from manufacturers including Widex, Siemens and Phonak. The multiple, due to its size and buying power, has been able to drive down prices with hearing aids ranging from £495 to £2,795. ‘Specsavers is one of the most competitively priced hearing aid suppliers,’ says Patel, adding: ‘Previously, patients used to have a choice between hospitals and independent providers who could charge up to £7,000.’
By discussing prices openly, Specsavers in Bedford has encouraged its competitors, including Bedford Hearing Healthcare, Hidden Hearing and other multiples like Boots Opticians, to clearly display their pricing too.
Hearing aids with technological features including enhanced sound frequencies and Bluetooth have proved extremely popular with Specsavers’ customers.
‘Bluetooth enables people to use their mobile phone as a remote control for their hearing aid via an app. As well as being more discrete, some patients also have severe dexterity issues due to arthritis and can’t manage the buttons on the hearing aid. A touch tone phone is an easy and visually clear way to operate the hearing aid,’ says Patel.
In order to ensure the practice offers sound aftercare and customer service, all shop floor staff members are trained in basic hearing aid checks, such as changing a battery, meaning that customers can stop by for fittings and adjustments, rather than booking a full appointment.
Raising awareness
While take-up for hearing services is increasing, Patel says there is still a long way to go to raise awareness about the importance of regular hearing tests for over-50-year-olds.
‘It is ingrained to have regular eye tests but not enough people know that the two should sit side by side,’ she says. ‘More people need to realise that the longer they leave their hearing to deteriorate, the harder it is to adapt to a hearing aid, especially for older people who can find hearing sounds they haven’t heard for a long time overwhelming. This is why we offer a three-month return policy to give patients time to adapt and discover if the aid is really for them.’
To increase awareness about the importance of hearing tests the Bedford practice runs a fortnightly hearcare awareness day in which members of staff wear t-shirts emblazoned with messages to encourage patients to come in for a free hearing test. The team regularly hosts display stands around Bedford’s shopping centre where staff members hand out promotional materials and discuss Specsavers’ hearcare service to members of the public.
Patel says the practice also makes the most of its links with the NHS by hosting lunch-and-learn sessions. ‘We spend time with GPs and nurses to give them a better understanding of our hearing services. A lot of the time they are very surprised about what we can do, including fitting hearing aids on the same day as an appointment. We also join patient participation groups at evening surgery sessions where patients discuss their health concerns, giving us the opportunity to inform them about the importance of hearing checks,’ she says.
Cross-selling
Another key advantage of basing an audiology department within an optical practice is the opportunity for cross-referrals. If someone comes in for an appointment, staff members do not make the assumption that they are there just for their eyes. They are trained to ask if a patient is there for their eyes or ears, hence alerting them to the service. Likewise, if someone calls to book an appointment, the staff member answering or the recorded voice message will refer to Specsavers’ sight, hearing and contact lens services.
‘During pre-screening for sight tests we offer customers a three-minute hearing screener, which is an informal way to get them to think about their hearing. If the test flags up any missed tones then patients will be advised to book a full free-of-charge hearing assessment. This engages both sides of the business at the right point,’ says Patel.
For those patients in a rush or who decline to do the screener for other reasons, the multiple also offers a free-of-charge three-minute Specsavers hearing check smart phone app, which they can complete in their own time.
Dispensing opticians are also trained to observe hearing aids on patients when taking measurements around the ears so that they can let them know that Specsavers also offers hearing services.
‘It’s very common for people to also think about other family members who may need our hearing services if they are alerted to it,’ adds Patel.
United team
Keeping abreast of developments in the optical side of the business is something Patel takes very seriously. ‘We are all under one roof so I see it as my responsibility to stay aware about other parts of the business. I attend monthly leadership meetings, which provide the opportunity to integrate ideas and improve the patient journey. We also do morning “huddles” and once a week there is a “hearcare huddle” so that everyone is kept up to date with daily developments,’ she says.
While Patel completed a course in audiology prior to joining Specsavers, she says it is not unusual for staff members to move around the business. ‘There is a lot of crossover. One of my team members worked on the retail floor but had a keen interest in the hearing business so she did a course and now she works in the hearcare team. Another colleague was qualified as a dispensing optician but decided it wasn’t for her so she moved across. It’s great because when we have gone to domiciliary appointments, the dispensing optician is able to advise patients about their frames too,’ she says.
For Patel, the best part of working in Specsavers’ hearcare team is being able to make a difference. ‘Hearing loss can be such an isolating impairment. I love that you can make such a difference in someone’s life. When you rehabilitate a patient from when they walk in to seeing them transform with confidence and hearing how much it has improved their lifestyle, it gives you such a great personal reward to know your services have helped to achieve that. I would recommend audiology as a career as it is rewarding and as an industry it is growing so quickly and always changing,’ she adds.
Seeing the difference made by helping patients’ hearing
Donna Juffs is a dispensing optician and trainee hearing aid dispenser at the Bedford Specsavers practice.
I qualified in 2014 as a dispensing optician and have always worked for Specsavers in the UK and Australia – for nine years in optics in total. I don’t see training in audiology as a switch as I still can and will do kids’ checks and any problem solving or advice needed for optical assistants.
I just wanted to be able to help all my patients. When I’m testing my audiology patients it’s lovely to be able to help them with their glasses needs without them needing to see someone else. The two link together really well. I’m training through De Montfort University, Leicester, which involves week-long blocks to study theory and exams. The whole process takes 14 months. Communication is key in my job and the skills I have learned through being a DO have made it easier to communicate with my hearcare patients.
There’s no doubt about it, the best thing about my job is seeing the reaction from a person who hasn’t been able to hear their family for ages, you can see the strain it’s caused and then the hope they get when they can hear the difference immediately. I then see them again a few weeks later and really see the difference it has made to their life.
