West Worcestershire MP Dame Harriett Baldwin offered her support to a campaign which will see a local opticians help to reduce NHS waiting times.
The MP visited Specsavers in Malvern Link to learn about how it is helping local people with both eyesight and hearing concerns and in tandem helping to take the pressure off the local NHS hospital system.
The store provides a minor eye care service for conditions such as such as a red or painful eye, foreign body, sudden change in vision. It means people don’t have to unnecessarily have to queue at the Emergency Department at Worcestershire Royal Hospital.
NHS England also supports the store to carry out eye tests and hearing tests to help to take the pressure off the local health system, with community audiology commissioned locally.
Dame Harriett was invited to visit the store to learn about the range of services Specsavers experts are able to offer beyond selling glasses.
She also met with Jessica Thompson who started work at Specsavers as a Saturday job and has now qualified as an optometrist helping patients at the Malvern store.
Dame Harriett said:
“I was amazed at the range of extra services that Specsavers is able to offer. If you get a splinter in your eye doing DIY or get an eye injury playing sport, you will be much quicker getting support from an expert in store, which is open seven days a week.
“It was also great to chat to Jessica who clearly loved her Saturday job so much that she has turned it into a full-time career.
“I’m grateful to Specsavers for taking the time to meet with me and show me all the things their company is doing to help make our NHS less busy.”
Jurgen Dreyer, optometry partner at the Specsavers store, says:
“It was great to welcome Dame Harriet to our store and show how Specsavers is providing NHS eye and ear health care closer to home.
‘We also talked about how community optometry and audiology is ready and able to do even more to support customers and the NHS.”
He adds:
“Specsavers is part of the community and we are passionate about providing good jobs and careers locally, which all contribute to the economy.”
Photo: Dame Harriett Baldwin MP (front middle) with the team at Specsavers in Malvern Link.