It was June 2020 that I last wrote this column as it’s been ‘all hands on deck’ – something I am sure you can relate to. What a rollercoaster of emotions and experiences we’ve all been through. Everyone has been on their own journey and faced personal challenges through this difficult time.
I discuss this with my Specsavers team in Daventry regularly to explore the ‘why’. Is it the fact that we are finding recruitment difficult, or is it that we are striving to exceed the expectations of our customers and ensure we are still there for them as restrictions ease, or is it that we are constantly having to adapt to change while offering primary care on the frontline, as we have been throughout the pandemic?
All I do know, and what I try to explain to the team and our customers, is that we are continuing to adhere to the strict NHS and College clinical guidelines in our delivery of the highest level of eye care and hearing services.
Speaking with a number of my colleagues in the profession, we have remarked on how the pandemic’s impact on primary eye care services has taught us a lot and evolved the service we provide. For example, the pre-visit consultation and more efficient ways to manage our diary, so we continue to be available when our customers need us. I really do believe that being ‘open for care’ from when the first lockdown kicked in, has helped raise the profile of our profession and our ongoing contribution to primary care. Our initial crisis response led to innovations that have had a lasting impact – telephone triaging, remote care, customising individual customer interactions, staying open seven days a week and for longer, and making appointments available for the convenience of the customer.
I am truly grateful for the way our teams responded from the very beginning and for all the timely advice from our own support office, the College of Optometrists and the NHS. I cannot think of any part of the business or the eye examination that has not been reviewed, refined and reflected on, and this has been one of the most powerful processes that I have really valued over the entire experience.
However, what has also worked well is empowering the team to be a part of this process. I have come to understand why it’s so important to go direct to the source and have more one-to-one conversations with individual team members that deliver our services, encouraging them to say what’s working well and what isn’t, and then work together to implement their ideas. Checking in regularly with those on the frontline enables me to keep in touch with what they and our customers are facing day-to-day as pandemic restrictions lift and help us to review our processes to make life more comfortable for everyone. Customers really appreciate our attempts to keep everyone safe.
This highlights an important point about optometry innovation and service delivery. Although I regard myself as a community practitioner that is passionate about eye health and wants to provide the very best eye care service possible, regularly assessing and developing what we already deliver is important in order to advance our ever-evolving retail and clinical landscape.
Our pandemic response has encouraged me to build better relationships with our local GP surgeries, pharmacies and hospital eye departments, and enabled us to support our extended community health services, such as via our home visits service, for the benefit of the patient.
In summary, I do believe that the pandemic has changed the delivery of community optometry on the high street for the better and that this is an exciting time for our profession. Our commitment throughout these challenging times to continue to offer an essential community health service has been noted and appreciated. We will endeavour to keep flying the flag in the communities that we serve and unlock more health-led services that we can be a part of.
- Satvinder Soomal is ophthalmic director of the Specsavers Daventry and Towcester.