SightCare Community Practice of the Year Award Winners

We spoke to SightCare Community Practice of the Year Award winners, Hammond Opticians, about how winning an award at the 2023 SightCare Conference has impacted their team.

How did you/your team feel when your practice was announced as the winner?

Overjoyed. Being able to celebrate our wins together has brought us closer. We’ve had a real sense of achievement and satisfaction, especially coming from our peers and colleagues.

What was the standout feature that you believe set you apart from your competitors in this category?

Since making significant changes to the way we work, we believe we are better able to really focus on what we feel our client base wants and expects from us and we have put in place measures to ensure we deliver on these expectations.

Does this win make you want to be more ambitious about your practice’s work in the community and if so, how?

Absolutely. We have doubled down on our efforts to engage with our community and to provide the best eyecare, service and products.

How do you believe opticians/practices can have a positive influence through social media with regards to their community?

Social media has allowed smaller businesses, like independent opticians, a more level playing field. Before this was available, the cost of creating a message that could reach our local community would be prohibitively expensive with no guarantee that the message would reach our target audience.

What future plans can be expected from you in terms of your work in the community?

We are already planning a Myopia Awareness Day so that we can better educate parents and their myopia children about the dangers of this disease and help the understand how to reduce the risks and even to offer advice on how to manage it.

How have you been been able share your award success with your patients, community and staff?

We have promoted the success via all our social media platforms with great engagement. With the help of SightCare, we were featured in the local newspaper. We have displayed our award with great pride on the practice and had window vinyls made so that we can increase the visibility when people are passing by. We use Powerpoint presentations on screens in the reception area and consulting room and both of these now feature our awards success.