NEW OPTOMETRY SERVICE OPENS IN NORTH OF BOROUGH

People in the North of Caerphilly County Borough can now get their eyes examined more locally thanks to a new optometry service in Rhymney, developed by Caerphilly Local Health Board (LHB).

The LHB has invested £70,000 in a new state-of-the-art optometry suite at Redwood Memorial Hospital in Rhymney after its Health, Social Care and Wellbeing Needs Assessment identified a need for local optometric services in the North of the Borough. Until recently, there was no optometrist practising North of Bargoed and local residents had to travel significant distances to access primary eye care services.

This new practice, called Rhymney Optical Centre, will open on 24 October and will provide NHS and private patients with a full range of optometric services, such as eye examinations, spectacles and contact lenses, as well as all schemes under the Wales Eye Care Initiative, which is a range of examinations for patients at risk of eye disease or with low vision. It features an air-conditioned reception and waiting area, consulting room and frame display area.

Following a national tendering process to find an optometrist to run the service, Caerphilly LHB awarded a contract to Shiraz Megji, who runs practices in Mountain Ash and Merthyr Tydfil. Mr Megji and two other experienced optometrists will practise from the suite two days a week and will increase their time commitments, if necessary, to accommodate all patients who wish to access the service.

Mr Megji said: “We are very excited to be able to bring high quality optometric eye care to the patients of Rhymney. We hope that patients will appreciate the efforts of their LHB in bringing this service to the area and will support us in establishing a practice which we hope will remain in Rhymney for many years to come. As a business, we have 37 years experience in the South Wales Valleys region and currently serve many patients from Rhymney at our practice in Merthyr. It is for this reason that we feel we have the local knowledge needed to fulfil the eye care needs of these patients.”

Mike George, Optometry Adviser at Caerphilly LHB, said: “By providing a fully equipped facility, we have been able to attract an experienced and enthusiastic optometrist to establish a practice to help us offer quality eye care to all residents in the area. A full-time receptionist will be available from Monday 24 October to make appointments and answer general queries, and can be contacted at Rhymney Optical Centre on 01685 843077. With half-term week starting the same day, it’s an ideal time to book appointments for the whole family!”