Sachin Davé has been the practice manager at Eyetech Optometrists for the past six years and prides himself on the number of services the practice provides. These include: dry eye clinics, specialist contact lens fitting, myopia management for children and BlephEx services.
The range of services on offer means Eyetech is ‘quite niche’, says Davé, as it ‘attracts people from all over the area’ and of all ages. ‘We’re lucky that we can provide such a good number of services to rival the multiples,’ he adds.
Eyetech has two practices on different sides of town. Davé says this increases the range of people they serve and also helps establish a recognisable brand in the city.
The practice is also ‘well optimised for internet searches,’ says Davé. ‘Our owner is really clued-up and tech savvy, so we often feature high up on Google search lists.’
For Julian Williams, optometrist and co-director at the busy CR Williams Opticians his father founded in 1961, Coventry is a ‘fulfilling and rewarding place to work’.
The practice recently changed location, and the new site was chosen so as to retain existing patients and to accrue new ones. Williams describes Coventry as having a ‘strong independent presence’.
Williams (pictured) keeps his eyes open for new makes and models entering the market, or for ones that are selling well. ‘Optrafair helps us survey what the options are, and reps also come in with offers,’ he says.
Susan Bowers, optometrist owner of Susan Bowers Optometrists, says high turnover at the multiples leads to a lack of continuity in care, which means people often turn to independents.
Bowers was one of the first 30 people in the UK to obtain a FP10 qualification, which is a step above IP qualification and means she can prescribe a broader range of drugs to her patients. She also works heavily with children’s vision care, seeing ‘around 2,000 children a year’, and collaborates highly with the local hospital. ‘We take overspills from the A&E eye department when it closes at the weekend,’ says Bowers, ‘But our main job is easing pressure on GPs.’
Bowers’ DO colleague ‘masterminds’ the dispensing and provides a ‘broad offering’ to customers.
Who’s in town
Total: 15
Independents: 11
Multiples: 4
Average costs
The price of an eye exam in Coventry ranges from £20 to £39, at an average cost of £29.40.
Population - see pie chart
Population: 360,149
Community eye care
According to the Locsu Atlas Map of Optical Variation, Coventry and Warwickshire Local Optical Committee has a contract with Coventry and Rugby CCG in Glaucoma Repeat Readings and Minor Eye Conditions Service.
Health and affluence
- The average house price in Coventry is £211,869 (Zoopla), compared with a UK average of £223,257 (Land Registry, 2018).
- Coventry has an average salary of £25,724, compared with a UK average of £27,271 (Payscale, 2018)
- In Coventry, it is estimated that there are 255 blind and partially sighted young people between the ages of 0 and 25 (RNIB).
- A quarter of people registered as blind or partially sighted in Coventry have also been recorded as having an additional disability by the local authority (RNIB).
Fact file
Warwick Arts Centre, the biggest arts centre outside London, is located in Coventry at the University of Warwick.
Coventry Transport Museum boasts the biggest collection of British cars and motorcycles in the world.
Coventry is twinned with 26 towns and cities around the world, including Volgograd (formerly Stalingrad), Dresden, Cork, Bologna and Kingston.
The 900-year-old legend of Lady Godiva comes from Coventry. Godiva was the wife of Leofric, Earl of Mercia, and rode through the town naked on horseback to protest against her husband’s punitive tax system. There is a statue honouring her in the city today.
Sir Frank Whittle, pictured, the inventor of the turbojet engine, came from Coventry. He was born in 1907 and served in the RAF from 1923-48, during which time he worked perfected his invention. He was knighted in 1948 upon his retirement.
Would you like to work in Coventry? Go to Optician Jobs to see all the latest opportunities available