After last year’s virtual event Optician has been working hard to bring a pre-Christmas celebration to the profession and is pulling out all the stops for a stonking, comeback, face-to-face, live event.
Our 19 trophies will be presented at a glittering black tie dinner and celebration at the Grosvenor House Hotel on London’s Park Lane on December 2. Preparations are already under way for a return of the biggest night in the optical calendar for a long-awaited opportunity to celebrate in style, among friends and colleagues. Rest assured all of the celebrations will be conducted safely and the latest guidelines adhered to. Everyone is welcome to come and tickets can be purchased at www.opticianawards.co.uk.
Unsurprisingly some of the trophies being handed out reflect the challenges of the last 18 months. Two awards will be made in our Covid Heroes category, sponsored by CooperVision, with recognition for an individual and a team. Optician has picked up on the zeitgeist with a Sustainability Award, which is another new category and there is a tweak to our product awards that will see their emphasis shifted from a particular product to overall performance of the supplier in the face of Covid.
Despite the pandemic, work has continued in optical practices which Optician, supported by the Awards sponsors, wants to see recognised. Once again, Hoya is the sponsor of the Independent Practice of the Year, Johnson and Johnson Visioncare is our sponsor for the Contact Lens Practice of the Year and Alcon for the Contact lens Practitioner of the Year.
Changes for this year include OutsideClinic becoming the sponsor for another blue ribband category, Optometrist of the Year, while the recently introduced Social Media Practice of the Year is sponsored by Bausch & Lomb. Vivid Optical also returns to sponsor entertainment on the night, which will be raising money for our charity partner Blind Veterans UK. A full round up of all the categories and the shortlisted entrants can be seen opposite.
The presentation party on December 2 in London will be hosted by an A-list celebrity and is sure to be a great night of celebration for optics. The event is open for all to attend, not just those on a shortlist, so why not come for a long-overdue celebration with friends and colleagues?
Optician would like to thank everyone who took the time to enter the Optician Awards in such a difficult year. We would also like to thank our judges for their efforts and the fantastic support provided by our sponsors, which enables us to recognise and reward excellence in optics.
Roll of Honour: Optician Awards shortlists 2021
Contact Lens Practice of the Year sponsored by Johnson & Johnson Visioncare
- Andrew and Rogers Optometrists
- Vision Express Sunderland Roker
- Specsavers Cramlington
- Specsavers Keighley
Contact Lens Practitioner of the Year sponsored by Alcon
- Jon Whittle, Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust
- Ian Johnson, Johnson and Leatherbarrow
- Bhavin Shah, Central Vision Opticians
Contact Lens Supplier of the Year
- Bausch+Lomb UK
- Johnson & Johnson Vision
- Alcon
- Menicon Limited
Covid Heroes Award sponsored by CooperVision
Individual Award
- Joshua Smith, Sheffield NHS
- Raj Gill, Specsavers Keighley
- Drew Thompson, Thompson & Hardwick Optometrists
- Jayne Abel, Eyespace
- Paul Ratcliffe, OutsideClinic
- Stephanie Littlewood, Wessex Optical
Team Award
- St Paul’s Optometry Department, Liverpool
- Optimum Vision Clinic
- Bayfields Opticians and Audiologists Harrogate
- Aristone Optical
- Nixon & Shaw Opticians
- Specsavers Northampton
- Specsavers Porthcawl
Dispensing Optician of the Year
- Lesley Collins, Rae & Rae Opticians
- Kim Walker, Allegro Optical
- Zoe Witham, Style Optique
- Richard Spencer, David Burghardt Vision Care
Enhanced Optical Service Award
- Probert & Williams Eye Care
- Cardiff and Vale University Health Board
- Specsavers Swansea
- Parley Optometrists
- Rifkind and Brophy Optometrists
Fashion Practice of the Year
- Rae & Rae Opticians
- Park Vision
- Mika & Me
- Andrew & Rogers Optometrists
- Style Optique
- Observatory The Opticians
Frame Supplier of the Year
- Eyespace
- Continental
- Cambridge Spectacle Co
Independent Practice of the Year sponsored by Hoya
- Rifkind and Brophy Optometrists
- Barnham Opticians
- Park Vision
- Tompkins Knight & Son Optometrists
- Davies and Jones
- Samantha Hague Optometry
- Webb, Lucas & Stubbs Optometrists
Lens Supplier of the Year
- Carl Zeiss Vision UK
- Hoya Lens UK
- Jai Kudo lenses
Multiple Practice of the Year
- Specsavers Oakham
- Specsavers Bicester
- Specsavers Sutton-in-Ashfield
- Boots Opticians New Milton
Optical Assistant Team of the Year
- Andrew and Rogers Optometrists
- David Burghardt Vision Care
- Barnham Opticians
- Specsavers Bicester
- Boots Opticians New Milton
Optical Supplier of the Year
- Spec-Care Ltd
- Millmead Optical Group
- Morris & Co specialist ophthalmic accountants
- Practice Building
- Eyewear Styling Academy
- Positive Impact
Optometrist of the Year, sponsored by OutsideClinic
- Ceri Probert Probert & Williams Eye Care
- Rebecca Rietdyke, Johnson and Leatherbarrow Optician
- Dr Rohit Narayan, Anstee & Proctor
- Nizz Sabir, Sutherland Opticians
- Robert Longhurst, Robert Longhurst Optometrists
Social Media Practice of the Year, sponsored by Bausch & Lomb
- Miller and McClure Opticians
- Urquhart Opticians
- Samantha Hague Optometry
- Bowen Opticians
- Station Road Opticians
Sustainability Award
- Eyespace
- Bird Eyewear
- Menicon
- Millmead
- Waterhaul
Technology Practice of the Year
- Radlett Opticians
- Samantha Hague Optometry
- Safarian and Simon Opticians
- Martin Smith Opticians
- Parley Optometrists
Technology Supplier of the Year
- Locumotive app Ltd
- Heidelberg Engineering
- Spec-Care Ltd
- Mainline Instruments
- Advanced Ophthalmic Systems (AOS) Ltd