AN optometrist from Durham hopes his starring role in a new video recruitment campaign will attract eye professionals from the high street into domiciliary care to help older people.

Simon Raw shares a day in his life working for OutsideClinic, which provides home eye care and hearing services, seeing mostly patients over the age of 65, who are at-risk of conditions like macular degeneration, cataract and glaucoma.

Demand for OutsideClinic’s services from over 65s has increased by 50 per cent in County Durham, where 20.8 per cent of people fall into that age bracket and the population continues to age, so the firm wants to recruit a further 75 staff to a variety of roles, including 48 optometrists and 12 audiologists.

Mr Raw thinks that eye professionals in Durham would be surprised by what a fulfilling role he has and just how good mobile optometry equipment is now.

He said: “I’m so flattered to have been selected to feature in this national campaign to attract more optometrists to consider a career in domiciliary and hope that my fellow eye care professionals here in Durham will watch the video and give it some consideration.

“I became an optometrist to make a difference to people’s lives and have found that working in domiciliary enables me to do that in a way that a regular high street optician job didn’t.

“The people we see are so grateful for our support and our technology is now as good as any high street opticians. It’s a privilege to see people in their homes and doing so gives me insight into how everyday things like lighting and positioning of furniture contributes to how well they can see, so I can make even more of a difference.

“I can also work flexibly, enabling me to spend more time with my family, playing cricket and raising money for charity - this year I’m doing the Big Hike.

"I wholeheartedly recommend the role and know, with the UK’s ageing population, that we need more people to join us if we are to enable people to maintain a good quality of life as they age, as eyesight is just so crucial to that.”

OutsideClinic’s managing director, Richard Gibson, said: “Demand for our industry-leading services has never been greater, with our talented team delivering clinically excellent eye care and hearing services in the homes of the hundreds of thousands of people who most need us.

“With the over-65 population set to grow significantly, we anticipate demand for our domiciliary services will increase substantially in the coming years and it’s vital we’re able to meet this demand while continuing to deliver the gold standard eye and hearing care that our patients have come to expect from us.

“The next 12 months will see us strengthen every area of our team, with a particular focus on growing our optometry team as part of our mission to ensure that excellent eye care is available to everyone from the comfort of their own home. We promise industry leading technology, unrivalled flexibility and the time and support needed to provide a service that makes a genuine difference to people’s lives.

"We’re excited about our next chapter and we have new roles right across the country, including in the Durham area and so would love to hear from any eye care professionals in the area."

Learn more about the new roles available here