Client wins prestigious national award

Just days after celebrating scooping a “first for Lincolnshire,” a Lincoln optometrist is giving himself an early Christmas present!

Dr Martin Smith, who is still on a high after beating off tough national competition to be named Optometrist of the Year 2015 at a top flight awards ceremony in Birmingham, is splashing out and giving his practice a new look.

The owner of Martin Smith Opticians in Saltergate – one of the UK’s select few Doctors of Optometry – was thrilled to be acclaimed by his peers, as the first practitioner in Lincolnshire to win the accolade.

Now, after being congratulated by his accountant Wright Vigar Ltd, Dr Smith has revealed a major revamp of his premises, designed to benefit the business, its staff and patients, will be completed by Christmas!

Today, Dr Smith (35), who heads a six-strong team, including his wife, company secretary Hazel, also announced that he hopes to take on an extra member of staff in 2016.

“It was phenomenally exciting to win The Association of Optometrists’ top overall award. The competition for this honour is particularly fierce. What makes it so special is that it is based on votes cast by my peers within the profession, as well as the general public,” said Dr Smith.

The awards featured 12 categories and attracted more than 14,000 votes.  The glittering ceremony was attended by 300 people.

“I always wanted the freedom to work for myself and I took over an established practice in Saltergate, when its owner retired eleven years ago. I am passionate about working within a diverse, but very rewarding profession,” said Dr Smith.

“We have invested in the latest technology, have a great team in place and our refit will be the icing on the cake.  We can’t wait for our patients, old and new, to see the transformation for themselves in the New Year,” said Dr Smith.

Dr Smith prides himself in offering people a personal, bespoke service, which includes everything from sight tests to OCT scans. Despite his qualifications – BScDOptom Dip Tp(IP) MCOptom – he keeps up his studies in order to stay abreast of the latest developments in his field.

In the past 12 months alone, Dr Smith has completed a postgraduate Diploma in Independent Prescribing, which fits in well with the way this part of the health sector is changing.

“I am very keen to use my training and expertise to make more people aware of the importance of caring for the health of their eyes,” he said.

“There are currently moves to give optometrists more responsibility for eye care in general. This means that a patient who might have previously gone to their GP with an eye condition, and possibly been referred to hospital, can now be treated by practitioners like myself.

“This is because my qualifications and mean that, in addition to offering general sight tests and scans, I am able to treat a range of conditions, including red eye, dry eye and blepharitis.”

Wright Vigar Director Pete Harrison said: “We congratulate Martin on his outstanding success in the Association of Optometrists’ Awards and we are delighted to continue our excellent working relationship with Martin and his team, providing our expertise to this outstanding Lincolnshire practice.

“Having seen his exciting plans for the revamp of Martin Smith Opticians, we are confident that Martin is poised to start 2016 on a high note and that his business will continue to go from strength to strength.”