Community Practice of the Year Award winners
A huge congratulations to S Walton Eyecare who won the 2025 SightCare Award for Community Practice of the Year, sponsored by Insight Hearing.
The winning practice has been chosen for this award for its outstanding dedication to supporting and enriching their local community. This practice is committed to giving back through a wide range of local initiatives. Their work in enhancing public health, especially through specialized services for individuals with learning difficulties, highlights their deep-rooted passion for making a positive impact on the community.
We spoke to S Walton Eyecare about their recent win:
What was your initial reaction when you and your team found out that your practice had won the Community Practice of the Year Award?
Honestly, dumbfounded and shocked.
We were up against some pretty hefty giants of the optometry world and so it had been a nice surprise to be shortlisted. We thought that’s where the accolade would end. Never did we believe we would win!
The second response was emotional. We almost didn’t apply in September because of everything that was going on with my mam in her last days, but my mam pushed me to do it so I wrote the application whilst living with and caring for her. She died 3 weeks after the deadline.
Suffice to say it was a tad emotional to find out I’d won!
I know she and my dad would have been proud and pleased.
What do you believe was the key factor that set your practice apart and led to this win?
We’re nearly 100 years old, and the practice ethos was built on the foundations and core-values of the two previous owners, who in their own way cared such a lot for their their patients.
Over these years this community has had some tough knocks. Unemployment, poverty and deprivation is high around here.
As community healthcare providers we have a firm belief and passion for better public health outcomes for our patients, particularly in health, but also in aspirations, education and outlook.
Every intervention has the potential to hold a positive public health intervention, especially in primary care where we are working at the ‘coal-face’ so to speak.
By small actions we strive to make the community a holistically better place.
Has this recognition inspired you to set new goals or be more ambitious in your practice? If so, how?
This recognition sits alongside the highest goals ever set for the practice, 18 years ago when Kaye started. She set a number of goals. One of which was to win a nationally recognised award that reflects our passion, core values and ethos. We constantly strive to be better, every year we make improvements to all that we do. It’s just so lovely seeing them all come to fruition. We are getting hundreds of new patients who are choosing to come to us having previously been seen on the high street. We aim to be the ‘go to’ optician in all of South Tyneside !
What exciting developments or future plans can we expect from your practice following this achievement?
Watch this space !🤫
We are donating funds that go towards a roof repair for Arts 4Wellbeing, which is a community day care centre for adults with learning difficulties. May of our patients are service users as well as Kaye’s sister Claire who has mild cerebral palsy.
Our practice manager and apprentice optical assistant Chloe are signed up to the next Eyewear Styling course so we can do more for our patients and make them feel ‘wow’ in the glasses they choose.
How have you celebrated and shared this success with your patients, community, and staff? What has the response been like?
A patient brought us in a cake today because she has seen the press release in the local paper. That just sums up what the practice is like and how the community around us works. We all celebrate each others wins.
Eight of us went out for a meal in Durham to celebrate. Our affiliate healthcare partners came too.
