A Care home nurse and a three-year-old boy have benefited from emergency eye care service provided by the Irvine Specsavers store.

The opticians, in line with government guidelines, has suspended routine testing due to the COVID19 pandemic but emergency and essential eye care is still available to those in need – including frontline staff and key workers.

The Irvine store provided emergency care for a key worker based in an Irvine care home after he began to experience blurred vision and a headache.

Due to GP practices being unable to accommodate him, he visited the Specsavers Irvine store for a sight test, where optometrist Clare McGowan spotted he had an enlarged pupil which may have been causing the discomfort.

Following a referral to the local hospital eye clinic from the store, the care home worker was quickly treated and is now back at work.

The Irvine store also helped a three-year-old boy who had a suspected eye condition and he was able to receive his first pair of glasses to help correct his vision.

The new lenses will help improve the boy’s vision until the Hospital Eye Service (HES) is able to resume its normal services.

Gillian Syme, store director at Specsavers Irvine, said: “Our staff are classed as key workers in order that they can provide this important emergency eye care.

"This allows us to support other key workers who couldn’t function without our help and people who would come to harm without our health expertise, especially where the usual hospital services and NHS facilities are being prioritised for the fight against COVID-19.

“Had we been closed, we wouldn’t have been able to provide the urgent care which both the care worker and the young boy required, the latter who could have potentially been left for months without any intervention.

"It is cases like this that highlight just how important it is for us to play our part in supporting the community throughout this uneasy period.”

The store is also inviting children from the Irvine area to help them create a vibrant display of rainbow drawings in the shop window.

Any budding artists are urged to email their colourful pictures through to the store’s email address at store.irvine.uk@specsavers.com

To speak to a member of the team or for emergency advice, please contact Specsavers Irvine on 01294 313 353.

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