OPTICIANS from Specsavers Home Visits in London are partnering with charity, Vision Care to bring essential eye care directly to people experiencing, or at risk of, homelessness and other forms of social exclusion in the city.
The collaborative programme, which will see a series of dedicated clinics delivered over the next 12 months, combines Vision Care’s experience of delivering accessible eye care for people affected by homelessness with the clinical expertise and resources of Specsavers Home Visits teams. Each clinic will provide a free eye test and glasses if needed, as well as advice about eye health.
‘Poor vision can have a significant impact on everyday life,’ comments Nikhil Sonpal, services development manager at Vision Care. ‘From reading information and managing appointments to maintaining independence and engaging with wider health and support services. For people experiencing homelessness, accessing routine eye care can be particularly difficult, meaning visual problems may remain unaddressed.’
Together, Specsavers Home Visits and Vision Care are taking eye care into trusted community settings. ‘Rather than expecting individuals to navigate traditional routes into eye care, this model brings a comprehensive service into familiar and accessible environments,’ adds Nikhal. ‘The clinics are designed to respond flexibly to local need, using a combination of pre-booked appointments and walk-in access.’
So far two clinics have taken place at the Dellow Centre in the East End where the Specsavers Home Visits team carried out free sight tests on 26 people and dispensed 23 pairs of prescriptive glasses. In addition, four people were referred on for further investigation, including one person who was referred to hospital with suspected glaucoma.
Preetam Meghani, optometrist partner at Specsavers Home Visits Central London says: ‘Partnering with Vision Care on this eye care clinic programme is going to help make a real difference. Putting people first is at the heart of everything we do, and partnerships like this help us extend that care across our community and make sure everyone has access to the eye care they need.
‘Also, it was such a rewarding experience supporting Vision Care at the Dellow Centre, especially seeing how much it meant to the people we saw. It made a tremendous difference which was incredibly moving. It gave them hope, and a sense of direction, and quite literally a clearer outlook on the world. In fact, it was a real eye opener for everyone involved.’
By combining the reach and clinical capability of Specsavers with Vision Care’s experience of working with homelessness and community services, the programme aims to create a practical and sustainable model for targeted eye care while generating learning that can help inform future delivery.
Vision Care is a national charity providing accessible eye care to people experiencing homelessness and other forms of social exclusion. Alongside its established clinic network, its Mobile Vision Service enables eye care to be delivered directly within community and homelessness services across the country.
Specsavers is supporting the series of clinics as part of its Homelessness Programme that delivers free, appropriate care to people affected by homelessness.
