2019 is a very special year for BBR Optometry, as they celebrate 50 years of delivering award-winning eye care to patients both locally and nationally. BBR recently celebrated this monumental occasion with clients, patients, suppliers, supporters, staff and family, by hosting a lavish summer party at their Hereford-based practice.
The party was a wonderful night for all and allowed BBR to well and truly reflect and raise a glass to how far they’ve come, thanks to everybody in the room that evening.
In 1969, BBR was founded by Peter and Angela Bishop and was set up as an Opticians in a first floor office with barely one consulting room. With a clear vision of optometry, both qualified to offer a genuine specialised service, something that has always remained part of BBR’s core values. With Peter specialising in contact lenses and Angela in orthoptist specialising in children’s vision, it was clear that the practice had outgrown its first premises.
Marbury House opened in 1983 and after an extensive refit, the practice saw around 150 patients a month utilising two consulting rooms and a private dispensing area. In 1991, the speciality of low vision was added with the aim to build on the practice values of clinical excellence, speciality mind set and the delivery to the absolute extent of what optometry could offer.
Fast forward to today and BBR Optometry is now a 6 consulting room practice, with 23 staff working from a premises of which all employees are incredibly and justifiably proud of. Over 800 patients are seen per month, and 2019 saw the addition of audiology, which has had some of the fastest take up ever. BBR, in conjunction with the Wye Valley, have trained more optometrists in independent prescribing than any other single practice. BBR have supported two optometrists through PhD programmes; 24 optometrists in the unique Manchester registerable degree course; over 20 clinical and optical assistants; 2 dispensing opticians into contact lens and low vision speciality and 3 dispensing opticians have gone from shop floor to professional registration. BBR have also won a number of awards over the years, which are testament to their focus and success.
Nick Rumney, senior optometrist and chairman of BBR Optometry, comments:
“I am extraordinarily grateful to Peter and Angela, successive staff and countless patients who have allowed me to indulge my passion for optometry on a national and world stage.
“BBR is a practice that only succeeds due to the people brought in to deliver an exemplary service to customers and patients. Every single member has a high standard of attention to detail and understands the core values that lie at the heart of BBR. We’d all like to include a special mention to our army of suppliers and patients. We couldn’t do this without them, and we’ve been extraordinarily grateful to them for helping to promote the practice through its 50th year.”
Image 1: BBR employees outside the practice at the 50th party celebrations
Image 2: BBR Directors, L-R Nick Black, Suzanne Wadsworth and Nicholas Rumney