Opticians host coffee morning to create stronger sight support systems across Malton
Opticians at Specsavers Malton hosted an informative coffee morning at Kingfisher Café to connect with local GPs and Sight Support Ryedale.
The Kingfisher Café provides the residents at Croft Community with meaningful work and opportunities, while the Sight Support Ryedale charity provides practical and emotional support to visually impaired people living in the Ryedale district.
Discussions during the coffee morning focused on ways in which Specsavers Malton can work with existing support networks for the visually impaired to ensure they have the right systems in place so they can live independently.
A key topic of conversation was Specsavers’ MESC appointments, which are NHS funded and designed to fast-track customers who have had a recent change in vision, providing them with effective and prompt care.
Rachel Patience, assistant manager at Specsavers Malton, said: "At Specsavers, we understand how scary sudden vision changes can be, that’s why we invited the team at Ryedale Sight Support and local GPs to our coffee morning to discuss how we can work together to support those experiencing vision issues.
Bypass
"Our goal is to create an open conversation with the visually impaired community and connect them with the right networks. Through our MECS appointments, people can visit us directly for urgent eye care, without visiting their healthcare provider. This allows them to bypass long wait times and hopefully ease the strain on the NHS.
"Hopefully, we can continue these catch-ups and continue to build a stronger support system for those with sight issues across Malton."
Victoria Shaw, community engagement assistant at Sight Support Ryedale, said: ‘We were delighted to attend Specsavers Malton's coffee morning, as it helped us to understand further the ways we can work closer with opticians to provide streamlined access to care to those with vision issues.
"Finding out we can refer individuals to the team's MECS appointments, provides them with quick solutions and helps to alleviate the pressure on the NHS. Meetups such as this, allow us in the visually impaired community to build stronger networks of care and awareness for those in the surrounding areas, ensuring no one feels alone when it comes to their sight."