“We’d like to be one of the biggest providers of domiciliary care in the country”

Michael McCourt, owner of Northern Ireland’s Opticare, Audiocare, and now Domicare, talks OT through his day – from a morning flat white to Gaelic football and evening family time.

7.20am

I get up at around 7.20am, get some breakfast, and prepare for the day.  

I’ve been an optometrist for nearly 20 years, and have recently retrained as an audiologist. I did a degree in hearing aid audiology, so I spend my days between doing optometrist work, audiology work, and managing the business. 

8.50am  

I arrive in practice just before 9am. My first port of call is getting a coffee – my first flat white fix of the day, to get me going.  

I then catch up with Christopher, the manager at Lisburn Road Opticare Opticians, which opened in 2024. We have a look at what’s happening in the day ahead, and I maybe catch up with the managers in the other practices too.  

9.30am 

My first morning tasks depend on where and what my clinic is: whether it’s sight or hearing tests. With the domiciliary home visits, we have to get equipment ready. I’ll be planning out the day, and seeing where I’m going to be.  

In my role, at the moment, that can really vary. I’m not going in and doing sight tests back-to-back all day long. As a business, we've got more than 20 staff. I’m trying to get to a point where I’m not on diary all the time, because I have other things to do. I might have meetings with staff members or suppliers, or with our marketing team. 

12.30pm

At lunchtime, I try and get out for a change of scenery. I’ll go for lunch and sit in somewhere locally. I tend not to make my own lunch, which I probably should do more often. I spend a fortune on lunch, but I like to have a bit of a break before coming back.

2pm 

In the afternoon we’re always busy with appointments, so I’m straight back into the clinic.  

We’ve got Opticare Opticians, and Audiocare Hearing, and historically we’ve done domiciliary through both of those. We’re still providing the same service, but we’ve rebranded the service as Domicare, because domiciliary is becoming quite popular. We’re looking to expand our service, so it made sense to have a clear brand so care homes or people looking for home visits services can recognise that it’s quite obviously a domiciliary brand.  

5.30pm

I play Gaelic football for a local club, and I play a bit of soccer as well. I train two nights a week with a match at the weekend.  

I keep saying it’s my last year playing football, but I keep going back for another year. People say you’re a long time retired, so I’ll keep going while I still enjoy it.  

With the busy work that situation that I have, getting out and exercising definitely helps clear my head. Physically and mentally, it’s good for me. 

I like to keep fit as possible. I’m turning 40 next week, so we’re going skiing for a few days. 

7.30pm 

Outside of football, spending time with the kids in the evening is the priority. My wife listens to podcasts, but I’m not as into those as she is.  

I like to keep dinner simple – chicken and spuds. It’s not fancy, but it’s hard to beat. 

Opticare

Opticare

Opticare