The Fred Hollows Foundation and Specsavers have partnered since 2011 and share the belief that everyone should have access to quality eye care and eyewear.
A key element of our partnership is the Optometry Outreach Program, which serves as a unique and exclusive opportunity for Specsavers’ optometrists to professionally volunteer with The Foundation’s program partners in the field.
In August, for the first time since the pandemic began, The Foundation’s Corporate Partnerships team was proud to join Specsavers on a trip to Lightning Ridge, New South Wales. The purpose of the trip was to support the work of our Program Partner, the Outback Eye Service (OES). The Outback Eye Service is one of the many programs that Specsavers contributes to, and the trip helped to address the backlog of patients who have been waiting for eye checks during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The OES) provides ophthalmology services to rural and remote areas of NSW) and aims to improve access to eye care services and maintain strong links with communities. Operating out of the Prince of Wales Hospital in Sydney, the program delivers high quality sustainable, affordable, regular and culturally sensitive eye services to people in rural and remote NSW.
$25 from each frame will be donated to The Fred Hollows Foundation’s work in Australia to restore sight, improve access to eye health care and build a workforce of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to deliver culturally appropriate care.
Specsavers Optometrists, Hammill and Gabrielle | PHOTO CREDIT: Daniel Jesus Vignolli (2022)
The Fred Hollows team was joined by Specsavers Senior Stakeholder and Professional Communications Manager (ANZ), Duchesne Markham, and two optometrists, Hammill Prasawat and Gabrielle Grant-Nilon, who were tasked with helping the OES team during the two-day clinic. Operating out of the Lightning Ridge Multi-Purpose Health Service, the visiting optometrists were guided by ophthalmic nurse and OES co-coordinator, Joanna Barton, Ophthalmologist Dr Basil Crawford, Orthoptist Ben Whitham and Dr Matthew Hochuen Ip, Senior Resident Medical Officer at Prince of Wales Hospital Eye Clinic. Over the course of the clinic, the team screened patients for several different eye health conditions. On top of the more common conditions such as refractive error and cataract, the visiting optometrists saw patients with diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma – conditions not normally seen in the clinics where they practice.
Specsavers supports the work of The Foundation in several ways, from donations, workplace giving activities, cause-related marketing campaigns like the Limited-Edition Eye Frames, but also through eye health equipment donations to support Aboriginal Health Services. Being an optical retailer, as well as the nation’s leading eye health provider, this partnership is the perfect example of a business taking responsibility within its sector.
COVER PHOTO CREDIT: Daniel Jesus Vignolli (2022)