South Shields opticians hoping for award win as they celebrate 25th anniversary

Specsavers on King Street, South Shields, have been nominated in the Optometrist of the Year Award section of our awards in recognition of they way they cater to patients needs.

The annual awards - which this year are being held jointly across Sunderland and South Tyneside for the first time - aim to honour outstanding people in the health services.

A customer who put the opticians forward for the awards said: “Fantastic staff and great service. I felt comfortable at my first eye test.”

Practice manager Melanie Moore, 51, who has been at Specsavers for 19 years, was delighted with the nomination.

She said: “I really enjoy my job and love interacting with our customers to help and advise them.
“I also love the camaraderie with staff, many of whom have been here for 10 years. It is really nice to be recognised as we take feedback really seriously.”
She added: “All of our staff will be over the moon with this nomination. We always try to treat our customers like guests as we understand it is all about the experience for people.

“In October we are celebrating our 25th anniversary and we have had customers coming in since day one.”

Sponsors for this year’s awards are South Tyneside NHS Foundation Trust, City Hospitals Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust, mydentist, NHS Sunderland Clinical Commissioning Group and the Quality Hotel Boldon.

There are a range of categories for people to choose to nominate someone for and once the nominations are in, a shortlist will be drawn up.

Finalists will then be invited to a finale at the Quality Hotel, in Boldon, on Thursday, April 27.

There are lots of categories to choose from, so there’s no excuse not to put your own health hero in the running for honours.

To nominate someone for an award, just send your name, address and telephone number, as well as your email address, if applicable.

Remember to include the category you are putting your nominated cause into.

Also send the name of the person you wish to nominate, along with their address, telephone number and email (if known).

Send all of that to Lynn Wild by no later than April 7.

Email those entries to [email protected] or send them to Lynn Wild, Alexander House, Second Floor, Rainton Bridge Business Park, Houghton-le-Spring, Sunderland, DH4 5RA.

THE CATEGORIES

Let’s start with the categories where we will be choosing two winners, one for Sunderland and one for South Tyneside.

l GP of the Year/GP Practice of the Year.

l Hospital Doctor of the Year.

l Nurse of the Year.

l Dental Practice of the Year/ Dentist of the Year.

l Optometrist of the Year.

l Therapist of the Year.

l Midwife of the year.

l Customer Service/Unsung Hero of the Year.

l Long term achievement.

There will be one winner - covering all areas - chosen in the following categories.

l Care Worker of the Year.

l Pharmacist of the Year.

l Dental Nurse of the Year.

1 Team of the Year.

And there is one category where a winner will be chosen for South Tyneside only.

l Community Nurse of the Year.