“I wanted to see what happened to my patients after I referred them into the hospital”

Can you describe working as a hospital optometrist in one sentence?

It is varied, fun, fast-paced, interesting – and very rewarding.

How long have you worked as a hospital optometrist?

I have been with East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust for 21 years. The trust has three hospitals that I work across: Hertford County Hospital, Lister Hospital, and the New QEII Hospital.

I started off doing one day a week in hospital and four days in practice, and slowly swapped over to now, where I’m doing four days in the hospital, and one day in practice.

When and why did you decide to become a hospital optometrist?

I worked as a High Street optometrist for a few years, before I became a hospital optometrist.

I had always wanted to work in low vision, and then an opportunity came up at a local hospital, so I applied. I originally started off doing paediatric refractions, and then started doing low vision and glaucoma, and most recently, independent prescribing in the urgent eye clinic.

I wanted to see what happened to my patients after I referred them into the hospital. I wanted to do something interesting and varied, and something where you could really make a difference to patients’ lives and really help them.

Do you do any other work or volunteering alongside hospital optometry?

Yes. I work in an independent practice. I sit on Hertfordshire Local Optical Committee, and I do tiny bit of work as a visiting lecturer at the University of Hertfordshire.

How does working as a hospital optometrist support you as a High Street optometrist?

When I’m looking at a patient who might need a referral, I know from my experience in the glaucoma clinics how urgently to refer something, or whether something can be managed on the High Street.

From working in the urgent eye clinic, I can often also identify when something could be managed through independent prescribing.

It’s the same thing with doing the paediatric refractions. Before you work in hospital, you might not necessarily know what to prescribe, whereas when you work alongside orthoptists and ophthalmologists, you have better idea of that. Even if you want to refer them, you can still get them started with their glasses.

Having the opportunity to speak to colleagues who are ophthalmologists or orthoptists, or the nursing staff, and gaining from their experiences, means you learn a lot.

How does working on the High Street benefit you in the hospital setting?

It means that you can see both sides of the coin. Sometimes in hospital, somebody might wonder why somebody has prescribed something or not prescribed something. Because you’ve seen both sides, you can explain to a clinician in hospital why something might have happened.

Having the opportunity to speak to colleagues who are ophthalmologists or orthoptists, or the nursing staff, and gaining from their experiences, means you learn a lot

What is the biggest challenge facing hospital optometry currently and why?

We have got lots of patients to get through, so that can be a challenge. It can be a challenge recruiting other optometrists, who might have mainly worked on the High Street before and might not know the advantages, into the hospital.

What is hospital optometry’s biggest success in the past three years and why?

The advances in the extended roles. With prescribing, we have a lot more interesting work to do in the urgent eye clinics. In other hospitals, optometrists are doing things like YAG laser, and selective laser trabeculoplasty. There is a lot more that we can do now, with our additional qualifications.

In the low vision clinic, I had a lovely thank you card from a patient who said she was going to have a much happier Christmas this year because of the aids that I’d given her

What is your biggest success in the past three years and why?

Definitely getting the independent prescribing qualification. It has meant that I can do the more varied work in the urgent eye clinics, help the doctors, and help reduce waiting times for patients. It’s interesting, and it’s good fun for me as well.

What would you say to optometrists working on the High Street about working in a hospital environment?

I would say that the work that we get to do within the hospital is great fun. It’s interesting; it’s varied. You get the opportunity to work with fantastic colleagues, who you wouldn’t get the chance to meet with otherwise, and you can learn a lot more. It’s a great opportunity. If you have the chance to do it, you definitely should.