Northern Ireland opticians invest £280,000 after over 50 years community service

The partners at Specsavers Portadown and Craigavon said the investment means they can provide eye and hearing care which was previously not available for their customers.

The stores are locally owned and run by directors JP Rice, Michael Kennedy, Colm Campbell and Paul Clarke and have been serving the local communities for many years.

The Craigavon store opened 24 years ago while Specsavers Portadown opened 28 years ago.

These latest refurbishments, which were completed at the end of 2023, have enhanced the aesthetics of the stores and introduced new equipment and space which allows the teams to provide an even better experience for their customers. Two audiology assistants were also employed last year, meaning there are now three hearing specialists across the two sites.

Specsavers Portadown has introduced a new consultation room, bringing additional audiology services to the community. The all-new dual room, allows for testing of both eyes and ears, as well as wax removal and hearing aid fittings, bringing the total to five consultation rooms in the store.

The Craigavon store now has a brand new Humphrey Field Analyser (HFA) which is used to measure visual field and can identify vision defects, such as glaucoma.

JP Rice, retail director at Specsavers Portadown and Craigavon, said: “It is so important to us to be able to bring the highest quality services and care to our communities. The investment into the stores allows us to provide care and expertise which was not previously available for our customers.

"The HFA is specialised equipment which allows us to provide additional services to the Craigavon community and is not available in all opticians.

"While in Portadown, the new dual room has resulted in essential audiology care including hearing aid fittings and wax removal, a service which is no longer available at GP practices.

"Additionally, if a customer is unable to visit our local stores unaccompanied due to disability or illness, we support access to eye health for all via our Home Visits service, which covers all of Northern Ireland.”

Specsavers Home Visits has two hubs in Northern Ireland, with the Portadown and Craigavon areas covered by a team based in Belfast.