The I Love EyeCare Mobile Optometrist is a classic example of how with a local optometrist with the simple act of helping out a neighbour turned into a bustling little practice.

A few years ago, our Panmure I Love EyeCare clinic received a distress call from a local rest-home. One of the residents had taken a fall and broken his glasses, depriving him of his last remaining joy (doing the crossword in the daily paper). His fall had also rendered him bedridden for the time being, so there was no getting out to see us.

Optometry equipment is typically heavy and bulky, so despite the rest-home and the clinic being practically neighbours, it presented a slight problem for us to lug various pieces of vision measuring machinery up the road just for a single eye consultation.

However, after some careful testing and planning, we were able to strip the equipment list down to bare essentials, and still be able to provide excellent and thoroughly accurate prescriptions and eye health examinations. We packed what we needed into a little car, and paid him a visit. He was rapt, and was back on the crosswords the same week.

The resthome called back not long after, asking if we could perform eye sight tests for a few more residents. Once we saw there was a genuine need for a mobile unit with a fully qualified optometrist in the community we began it as a secondary practice, and it grew from there.

Fortunately, new technology has now slimmed down the once bulky apparatus and today we bring what is practically a full clinic along with us whenever we make a visit.

Please check out our new location and new clinic in Glen Innes.