BBR Optometry wins employer award

BBR Optometry have won the Best Employer of a Student or Graduate category at the Herefordshire & Worcestershire Chamber Business Awards 2011.

Hereford Optometrist takes on international education role

Hereford based Optometrist Nick Rumney, spreads the Topcon OCT word in Berlin. The photograph shows Prof Holger Dietze of the Berlin Hochschule Optometry course welcoming Nick to the school.

Nick is Managing Director of BBR Optometry based on St Owen Street and a director of Monnow Eyecare in Monmouth.

The Hochschule was founded in 1909 and is one of the oldest, if not the oldest in Germany. For many years in the Eastern Sector of Berlin the school now inhabits one of the few pre 1939 buildings to survive the air raids of WW2. In fact bullet and artillery damage can still be seen in the fabric of the building from the days when Red Army troops closed in on the capital of the Reich.

Nick gave a presentation to the whole school as well as a seminar for the MSc students. The visit was supported by Sascha Ruecker of Topcon Medical Germany.

OCT is Optical Coherence Tomography. This is the next generation in imaging the internal structures of the eye. The unique way the image is formed means that for the first time we can actually see below the surface of the retina and view the microscopic layers beneath. This is of profound importance in determining the precise diagnosis of visual problems and in helping us guide patients on the treatment options possible.

BBR Optometry on St Owen Street, were the first practice in Hereford to bring digital retinal photography onto the high street and are the only practice now providing OCT. For more information visit www.bbroptometry.co.uk/topcon.htm.

BBR Opticiansshortlisted for two prestigious national awards

Local award winning independent optician, BBR Optometry has again been shortlisted for two national awards at the prestigious Optician Awards, to be held at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole on Saturday, 9th April 2011.

The shortlist has just been announced with Ruth Kettel making the final three in the 'Dispensing Optician of the Year' category and the practice making the final four for 'Technology Practice of the Year'.

Director, Nick Black was delighted adding, "It is fantastic that Ruth has been shortlisted after offering Herefordshire and surrounding areas top quality expertise for over 27 years. She is a shining example of the potential quality that a registered Dispensing Optician can make to any spectacle purchaser. The key underpinning her success is time and knowledge, as we are all very different, so it is only by understanding each person's individual optical needs that she can determine the optimum solution in styling and performance."

In being shortlisted for the Technology Award, BBR Optometry have demonstrated how the practice is able to use technology to enhance services and local eye health relationships for the benefit of the customers. Managing Director and Optometrist, Nick Rumney commented, "It is not the technology itself, but the way in which it empowers us to make better informed judgements, so we can offer the very best advice in a timely manner". Nick, who is currently completing an independent prescribing course also added, "Ongoing technological investment also means that we have to finely tune our own skills to be continually improving."

This is the not the first time the practice has been shortlisted recently, as in 2008 it won both the 'Independent Practice of the Year' and the 'Business Initiative of the Year' awards, while the following year BBR Optometry was also shortlisted in the 'Individualised Lens Practice of the Year'.

BBR OpticiansTraining with the full blind England squad

Low Vision Specialists Nick Black and Nick Rumney spent Saturday afternoon vision testing the 9 members of the English Partially Sighted Squad as they attended a training session playing Bath at the Royal National College for the Blind, pictured are Nick Rumney, Nick Black, Joyce Watson (team doctor) and James Black (wearing his donated England shirt).

James, a keen footballer said " I was amazed at their skill and speed around the indoor pitch". "As consulting optometrists and low vision specialists to the RNC we were really pleased to take part in this essential exercise.

Vision across the team varied from 6/60 to 1/36 and included such diverse conditions as Stargardts disease, uncorrected keratoconus and sympathetic ophthalmia". Next year Hereford, home centre for Full Blind England squad, hosts the World Blind Football cup. The English Partially Sighted Football team is Englands highest world ranking representative football team (3rd in the world).

BBR Opticianon specialist mission to Philippines

Local Low Vision Optician and director of Hereford-based BBR Optometry Nick Black has recently returned from a two week volunteer project to the Philippines.

The project was coordinated through the Rotary Club of Burslem, Staffs and the Philippine District 3940 with the intention to visit underprivileged areas focusing on the needs of children with Low Vision and hearing difficulties.

Nick was part of a team of 8 Optometrists, 2 audiologists, 2 Low Vision Specialists, 1 Orthopedic surgeon and 4 support staff. During 7 days of clinics in Lucena City, Daet, Naga City and Sorsogon City over 1200 eye tests and 250 hearing tests were carried out, with over 1000 pairs of spectacles or magnifiers provided, all at no cost to the locals.

Nick said, "It is an amazing experience to help someone to see. Often we take for granted the access we have to these quality services in Herefordshire and the UK. The smile you get when you focus someone's world is priceless. One 11-year old girl's life was transformed with a pair of glasses. She had previously been unable to see a hand moving in front of her face and now she can see well enough to pass the UK standard for driving!"

In Herefordshire we are fortunate to have one of the best community Low Vision Schemes in the UK, so much so that the model has been taken and implemented in various forms throughout the UK. Anyone who has a Herefordshire GP can be seen for an assessment if, with spectacles, they are still unable to see as clearly as they would like or need to. This assessment is at no cost and, if appropriate, appliances can be given on a loan basis. BBR Optometry is one of the accredited Low Vision Service providers for this scheme that operates throughout the county.

Nick was grateful to BBR Optometry for their support, and also to the local Rotary Club for supporting a successful bid for funding through the International Rotary Club to offset some of the personal costs.

BBR Optometryscoop two prestigious national awards

BBR Optometry, the independent optometrist practice based on St Owen Street in Hereford, has received two highly prestigious awards in a UK wide competition run by the Optician journal.

The 2008 Optician awards are designed to recognise excellence in the optical industry and they are very strongly contended each year from every region in the UK.

As proud winners of two of these award categories, Independent Practice of the Year and Business Initiative of the Year, BBR Optometry has been nationally recognised for the leading edge approach they have brought to optical care in Herefordshire and the surrounding regions.

The provision of increased choice and a higher quality of care, achieved by offering patients an extended eye examination that lasts for at least 40 minutes, were the key judging criteria that helped to land BBR Optometry the two awards. This approach compares very favourably to the basic eye test paid for by the NHS, which can last for as little as 20 minutes.

Employing only professionally qualified Dispensing Opticians and ensuring that all clinical assistants hold the Diploma as Clinical Assistants in Optometry meant that BBR Optometry also scored very highly for its commitment to providing service excellence in all areas of the practice.

"Through spending more time with our patients and by placing an emphasis on quality we are able to provide these discerning individuals with a service in which they can have total confidence. " said Nick Rumney, Managing Director at BBR Optometry.

Nick continues: "We undertake a detailed examination of every aspect of our patient's vision, from the demands of different lifestyles to the investigation of health related issues, where the eyes can provide a vital early warning. Our patients can rest assured they are getting some of the most comprehensive and advanced care currently available from anywhere in the UK."

The Optician Awards 2008 Saturday April 19, The London Hilton

BBR Optometry has been shortlisted in the prestigious 2008 Optician Awards for two separate award categories, Business Initiative of the Year and Independent Practice of the Year.

To be nominated for two awards is an outstanding achievement in itself but is of particular note in a year when the number and standard of entries has been confirmed by the organisers as the highest ever. Judging to decide the winner of each category will take place on February 28 and the winning entry will be announced on the night of Saturday April 19 at The London Hilton Hotel on Park Lane in London

The full shortlist will be published very soon in Optician Journal and on the awards website - www.opticianonline.net/awards2008

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People with astigmatism who:

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Can we improve your comfort and vision ?

New lenses materials and designs are continually becoming available and at BBR Optometry we have had the advantage of a pre-release trial with these lenses. We have found that their design overcomes significant problems that astigmats have experienced. We are continually trialing new designs and materials in all forms of lenses, so please do not hesitate to ask us about ways to improve on the comfort and performance of your current lenses.

Life fellowshipfor Hereford Optometrist

On 31^st January 2007 Hereford optometrist, Angela Bishop, was awarded Life Fellowship of the College of Optometrists in recognition of her many services to optometry including her particular contribution to children's vision.

At the ceremony at Central Hall in Westminster, London, where Angela was joined by 250 newly registered optometrists, she commented: "Optometry stands at a threshold of increasing clinical responsibility and I am proud to have been involved in shaping the development of the profession I love. None of this would be possible without the support of my husband, Peter with whom I started the practice in 1969, our close working with the hospital Eye Unit and the continued encouragement of our partner, Nick Rumney".

Proposing Angela for this award Nick Rumney, of BBR Optometry, said; "Angela almost single-handedly put children's vision at the heart of the profession of optometry. From the St Owen Street practice, Angela examined and treated thousands of children and passed this knowledge on to generations of new optometrists."

Based in a beautifully restored Georgian Town House in Hereford, BBR Optometry provides quality eye care and expertise in children's vision from a relaxing and pleasant, air-conditioned practice.

Nick Rumney, Managing Director at BBR Optometry, confirms: "Our optometrists and dispensing opticians are committed to continued professional development and strive to be involved in helping to shape the future of optometry to ensure delivery of the best possible eye care to all. With this aim, our people are involved with key organisations, including the Local Optical Committee, Victoria Eye Unit, Herefordshire Primary Care Trust, College of Optometrists, Association of British Dispensing Opticians and the General Optical Council, who work to promote primary health care to improve service to patients wherever possible."

What's in a name?

On 1st May 2006, just over one year after Peter and Angela Bishop retired from practice, Bishop, Bishop & Rumney became BBR Optometry Ltd. Why ?

Affectionately known for some time as BBR, this name is now derived from Stephanie Bonner, Nicholas Black and Nicholas Rumney, the 3 directors. Optometry is the term used to describe the specific set of professional services provided by Optometrists (also known as Ophthalmic opticians).

Bishop, Bishop & Rumney has used the title Optometrist for nearly twenty years to describe our work. Because we are a multi-partner practice using only qualified Optometrists, Dispensing Opticians and Contact Lens Opticians we wanted to reflect our qualifications and competence in our new name. While there has been a shift away from the use of surnames in our title, this allows us to focus on how the practice has grown. We now have a diverse range of multi-talented individuals who are integral to providing you with the quality of service you deserve.