“It’s a fantastic opportunity for professional growth”

Why did you decide to become involved in hospital optometry?

I was enquiring about a hospital placement for my independent prescribing qualification, and the consultant ophthalmologist I spoke to asked whether I’d consider working in the eye department. There was a job opening, which I applied for, and I was successful. The rest is history.

Can you explain your Newmedica role, and how this complements your work at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital?

My role at Newmedica involves assessing our existing service pathways and developing new pathways, with a focus on the highest quality patient care balanced with the most efficient solution.

I also look after optometry engagement and development, which involves coaching and supporting Newmedica optometrists with professional development and expanding their scope of practice. This is particularly close to my heart, as I have been a keen proponent of the extended roles that optometrists can play in secondary care ever since I started my career as a hospital optometrist.

Many of the optometrists at Newmedica carry out extended roles in cataract, glaucoma and medical retina clinics, delivering procedures such as YAG capsulotomy, selective laser trabeculoplasty and intravitreal injections.

Vice versa, how does your hospital work inform or assist with your work at Newmedica?

I often say that I don’t think I’d be able to do my job at Newmedica if I hadn’t worked as a hospital optometrist. That’s because of the clinical skills that I learned when I first went into hospital optometry, and the variety of clinics that I worked in.

The other point is about working alongside ophthalmologists. That’s a key part of what we do at Newmedica. Each new Newmedica site is owned and run by an individual consultant ophthalmologist, with expertise in a specific sub-specialty.

Being able to work side alongside ophthalmologists, and demonstrate the value of optometry to them, is something I was doing for a number of years within my NHS role. When I came over to Newmedica, I found that a lot easier. I think I would have struggled if I had come from a community background.

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

Challenging, varied, and incredibly rewarding.

What is the biggest challenge facing hospital optometry currently?

I think the remuneration for hospital optometrists continues to be an issue in some areas. When I first started my career in hospital optometry, I wasn't able to commit to full time because of the drop in salary. I worked as a locum optometrist and clinical governance and performance lead for a primary eye care provider to supplement this.

Some NHS trusts have structured their bandings to allow optometrists with higher qualifications and specialist skills to move up, but this isn't widely adopted. I feel that there needs to better recognition of the broad scope of practice that optometrists can deliver.

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

The first one is the opportunities to work in a hospital setting outside the NHS – independent service providers, like Newmedica, allowing optometrists to develop a broad scope of practice, be involved in more specialist skills, and work closely with ophthalmologists. In years gone by, that was reserved to be done within NHS Trusts.

The other big one for me is just the platforms for hospital optometrists to come together and really have a voice, including the Hospital and Specialty Optometrist Conference that the AOP holds, having more hospital optometrists on AOP Council, and just having more hospital optometrists to work alongside.

When I think about my hospital optometry career, when I first started, I was the only hospital optometrist there for almost two years. Now, we’re at a point where we’ve got seven optometrists, and they’ve got multiple qualifications under their belt. Fundamentally, it’s just having that voice, working alongside other optometrists, sharing views, and networking.

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

Gaining my higher certificate in medical retina. Alongside my professional certificate in low vision, it has allowed me to take a more independent role in diagnosing and managing medical retina conditions in my hospital clinics, and also support visually impaired patients more effectively. Being diagnosed with macula disease can be distressing for patients, so it is critical they have the right support and information to maintain as much independence as possible.

Being diagnosed with macula disease can be distressing for patients, so it is critical they have the right support and information to maintain as much independence as possible

What is the most surprising case you have seen in the hospital setting?

I saw a gentleman who presented to eye casualty with a penetrating eye injury from a piece of metal due to an accident at work. Unfortunately, he hadn't been wearing any safety goggles and suffered an iris prolapse. I remembering rushing to find the corneal consultant, who had to reposition the iris and close the wound. It was the first time I had seen an iris prolapse and I'll never forget it. It highlighted the critical role that safety goggles play in protecting our eyes from potential hazards, both at work and during leisure activities.

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

Transitioning from the High Street to a hospital environment as an optometrist is an incredibly rewarding and eye-opening experience. You encounter a broader range of complex and diverse cases, working alongside multidisciplinary teams, including ophthalmologists, ophthalmic nurses and orthoptists.

Hospital optometry offers the chance to develop new skills, and expand your clinical knowledge in ways that you might not experience in a High Street practice. Ultimately, it’s a fantastic opportunity for professional growth and a broader scope of practice.

Anything else to add on the subject of working as a hospital optometrist, or on hospital optometry in general?

Just a call to community optometrists, those working on the High Street, that if there is a job role that becomes available as a hospital optometrist, whether it’s work in the NHS or an independent service provider, to take that opportunity, and take that leap of faith.

Even if you do it one or two days a week, it allows you to broaden your horizons a little bit, and exposes you to a completely different avenue of optometry that you wouldn’t see on the High Street, in terms of the types of cases and pathologies that you deal with. It’s a completely different group of people that you work with.

As optometrists coming out of an undergraduate degree, we probably don’t talk about hospital optometry much. We’re more geared towards work on the High Street. So, have that awareness of hospital optometry, and the opportunities that it can present.

My steer to any optometrist is, if an opportunity comes up in your area, take it with both hands and go for it, even if it’s just a part-time role, and even if you do it for a short period of time. That experience is so rewarding and fulfilling, and you’ll look back at it with fond memories. Potentially, it might be a career that you end up doing for a number of years, if not for the rest of your life.