For the first time in almost three years the Optician Awards were presented in front of a packed house with 500 guests in attendance at the Grosvenor House Hotel on London’s Park Lane to see the 2021 trophies awarded.
The atmosphere on the night was electric with optical folk hungry to catch up with old friends and party after so many months of cancelled events. Welcoming guests, Optician editor-in-chief Chris Bennett praised the audience for their efforts in ensuring patients continued to get the care they needed during the pandemic. ‘There were times,’ he said, ‘I wondered if we would ever get everyone back together to celebrate the Optician Awards like this. It would have been easy to say: “let’s just do it online.” But as our judges found reading the entries, in optics that’s just not the way we roll.’
Levelling up was the order of the day at this year’s event with practices from around the regions triumphing in category after category. The Midlands had a particularly strong showing with Dr Rohit Narayan of Daventry’s Anstee and Proctor taking the Optometrist of the Year Award sponsored by OutsideClinic. Another Blue Ribband Award, the Independent Practice of the Year, sponsored by Hoya, was won by Nottingham’s Park Vision. Practices in the North also flexed their muscles with Andrew and Rogers of York scooping the Contact Lens Practice of the Year Award sponsored by Johnson and Johnson. Individual Awards also headed north with Holmfirth’s Kim Walker of Allegro Optical crowned the Dispensing Optician of the Year and Iain Johnson, Johnson and Leatherbarrow, taking the Contact Lens Practitioner of the Year sponsored by Alcon. Rae and Rae of York took home the fashion Practice Award and Martin Smith of Lincoln the Technology Practice trophy.
A special award for 2021 was the Covid Hero Award sponsored by CooperVision. The individual trophy was awarded to Paul Ratcliffe of Swindon’s Outside Clinic while Northampton’s Specsavers scooped the team Covid Award. Flying the flag for Wales was Aberystwyth’s Probert & Williams who won the Enhanced Optical Service Award sponsored by Moorfields Private Eye Hospital while heading north of the border to Urquhart Opticians is the Social Media Practice of the Year Award sponsored by Bausch & Lomb. The south coast had its winner in Bognor’s Barnham Opticians. A full round up of all the winners and those shortlisted can be seen opposite.
The glittering black tie event started with a drinks reception before guests made their way through to dinner. During his welcome, Bennett said Optician had pushed to hold a live event to honour practices up and down the land who had striven to serve their patients over the past 18
months.
The welcome was followed by a balloon burst competition sponsored by Vivid Optical, which saw Hannah Christie of Nixon and Shaw win £1,000 worth of Amazon vouchers. Another winner on the night was Tim Precious of Essilor who won a magnum of champagne and a Fortnum and Mason hamper in a charity fundraising game of heads and tails. Just under £2,500 was raised for the charity Blind Veterans UK.
After dinner, guests were entertained by the celebrity host Stephen Mulhern, who kicked off with some magic tricks before hosting the presentation of the sought after Art Deco trophies. The evening concluded with dancing along with celebrations and commiserations at the bar. Optician would like to thank all the sponsors, judges and our readers who entered.
Roll of honour
Contact Lens Practice of the Year sponsored by Johnson & Johnson Vision
- Winner: Andrew and Rogers Optometrists
- Vision Express Sunderland Roker
- Specsavers Cramlington
- Specsavers Keighley
Contact Lens Practitioner of the Year sponsored by Alcon
- Winner: Iain Johnson, Johnson and Leatherbarrow
- Jon Whittle, Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust
- Bhavin Shah, Central Vision Opticians
Contact Lens Supplier of the Year
- Winner: Menicon Limited
- Bausch + Lomb UK
- Johnson & Johnson Vision
- Alcon
Covid Heroes Award sponsored by CooperVision
Individual Covid Hero Award
- Winner: Paul Ratcliffe, OutsideClinic
- Joshua Smith, Sheffield NHS
- Raj Gill, Specsavers Keighley
- Drew Thompson, Thompson & Hardwick Optometrists
- Jayne Abel, Eyespace
- Stephanie Littlewood, Wessex Optical
Team Covid Hero Award
- Winner: Specsavers Northampton
- Optimum Vision Clinic
- Bayfields Opticians and
- Audiologists Harrogate
- Aristone Optical
- Nixon & Shaw Opticians
- Specsavers Porthcawl
Dispensing Optician of the Year
- Winner: Kim Walker, Allegro Optical
- Lesley Collins, Rae & Rae Opticians
- Zoe Witham, Style Optique
- Richard Spencer, David
- Burghardt, Vision Care
Enhanced Optical Service Award sponsored by Moorfields Private Eye Hospital
- Winner: Probert & Williams Eye Care
- Cardiff and Vale University
- Health Board
- Specsavers Swansea
- Parley Optometrists
- Rifkind and Brophy Optometrists
Fashion Practice of the Year
- Winner: Rae & Rae Opticians
- Park Vision
- Mika & Me
- Andrew & Rogers Optometrists
- Style Optique
- Observatory The Opticians
Frame Supplier of the Year
- Winner: Continental
- Eyespace
- Cambridge Spectacle Co
Independent Practice of the Year sponsored by Hoya
- Winner: Park Vision
- Rifkind and Brophy
- Optometrists
- Barnham Opticians
- Tompkins Knight & Son
- Optometrists
- Davies and Jones
- Samantha Hague Optometry
- Webb, Lucas & Stubbs Optometrists
Lens Supplier of the Year
- Winner: Hoya Lens UK
- Carl Zeiss Vision UK
- Jai Kudo lenses
Multiple Practice of the Year
- Winner: Specsavers Sutton-in-Ashfield
- Specsavers Oakham
- Specsavers Bicester
- Boots Opticians New Milton
Optical Assistant Team of the Year
- Winner: Barnham Opticians
- Andrew and Rogers Optometrists
- David Burghardt Vision Care
- Specsavers Bicester
- Boots Opticians New Milton
Optical Supplier of the Year
- Winner: Positive Impact
- Spec-Care Ltd
- Millmead Optical Group
- Morris & Co specialist ophthalmic accountants
- Practice Building
- Eyewear Styling Academy
Optometrist of the Year Sponsored by OutsideClinic
- Winner: Dr Rohit Narayan, Anstee & Proctor
- Ceri Probert Probert & Williams Eye Care
- Rebecca Rietdyke, Johnson and Leatherbarrow Optician
- Nizz Sabir, Sutherland Opticians
- Robert Longhurst, Robert Longhurst Optometrists
Social Media Practice of the Year Sponsored by Bausch & Lomb
- Winner: Urquhart Opticians
- Miller and McClure Opticians
- Samantha Hague Optometry
- Bowen Opticians
- Station Road Opticians
Sustainability Award
- Winner: Eyespace
- Bird Eyewear
- Menicon
- Millmead
- Waterhaul
Technology Practice of the Year
- Winner: Martin Smith Opticians
- Radlett Opticians
- Samantha Hague Optometry
- Safarian and Simon opticians
- Parley Optometrists
Technology Supplier of the Year
- Winner: Spec-Care Ltd
- Locumotive app Ltd
- Heidelberg Engineering
- Mainline Instruments
- Advanced Ophthalmic Systems (AOS) Ltd