SPECSAVERS in Haverfordwest has been shortlisted for the Contact Lens Practice of the Year award at the Optician Awards 2024.

This recognition highlights the practice’s unwavering commitment to delivering outstanding customer care and advanced contact lens solutions, particularly for individuals with complex ocular conditions.

The Haverfordwest team is known for blending clinical expertise with cutting-edge technology to ensure that every customer receives personalised contact lens care. Through timely intervention, the team has transformed the lives of many at-risk customers by preventing irreversible sight loss over the years.

The practice has earned a reputation for working with both hospital and private patients, including those requiring specialised lens fittings due to challenging conditions such as keratoconus, severe dry eye and corneal irregularities.

The practice’s partners, Andy Britton and Wayne Jones, are particularly proud of their role in stepping in to support hospital patients following the retirement of a local eye service provider in the area. The team’s expertise in fitting advanced lenses has helped reduce the need for patients to travel long distances to their nearest hospital, ensuring essential care is accessible close to home.

Andy Britton says: ‘We’re thrilled to be shortlisted for this year’s Contact Lens Practice of the Year award for our work in contact lens care.

‘Our focus has always been on improving the quality of life for our patients by providing personalised, cutting-edge solutions that prioritise both vision and eye health.’

The practice’s investment in advanced diagnostic tools, such as anterior segment imaging and topography, has further enhanced its ability to offer precise and comfortable lens fittings.

To ensure the highest standards of customer satisfaction, the practice has implemented numerous initiatives, including regular check-ins with customers post-fitting and specialised phone systems to handle contact lens enquiries swiftly. Their proactive approach to managing care schedules has also improved retention rates and strengthened customer engagement.

‘We’re passionate about pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in contact lens care,’ says retail partner, Wayne Jones.

‘By fostering a team of highly skilled professionals, investing in cutting-edge technologies and adopting a customer-first approach, we have created a practice that is both dynamic and compassionate. We look forward to continuing our growth, delivering life-changing contact lens care, and ensuring our customers receive the best possible vision solutions.’

As previous winners of the Enhanced Optical Services award and Multiple Practice of the Year award, the team is looking forward to the results of the Optician Awards 2024 which will be announced at an awards ceremony in London on Friday 22 November.

Specsavers Haverfordwest is open seven days a week. To find out more information about Specsavers in Haverfordwest, request an appointment or browse the online store, visit https://www.specsavers.co.uk/stores/haverfordwest. 

Additionally, to make eye health accessible to all, the store offers a Home Visits service for those unable to leave their homes unaccompanied due to disability or illness.

THE Chancellor is poised to announce a significant increase in National Insurance contributions for employers, aiming to generate £20 billion in additional funding for public services, including the NHS in England.

The Budget, set for Wednesday, will likely feature a lowered threshold for employer contributions to National Insurance, allowing these combined measures to become the largest revenue drivers in the upcoming Budget. However, Chancellor Rachel Reeves is not expected to apply the increase to employers’ pension contributions.

Currently, employers pay 13.8% on earnings over £175 a week. A two-point hike to 15.8% would yield an estimated £18 billion annually, though the threshold adjustment may push that figure higher.

A government source commented: “There is a universal consensus that the NHS needs more money. That means asking businesses to help out. The choice is investment versus decline.”

Tough choices for NHS funding

Speaking at a news conference during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Samoa, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer remarked that the government is prepared to make “tough decisions” to support the NHS. However, he declined to provide further Budget details.

National Insurance represents the UK’s second-largest revenue stream after income tax, encompassing contributions from employees, the self-employed, and employers. The Chancellor has signaled that while the Labour manifesto promised not to increase National Insurance for “working people,” this was intended to shield employee contributions, not those of employers.

Wider budget implications and business concerns

As Labour prepares for its first Budget in nearly 15 years, concerns are rising about the potential for further tax changes, including a freeze on income tax thresholds, a possible hike in taxes on asset sales, and revisions to inheritance tax.

In a recent International Monetary Fund meeting, Reeves underscored the need for responsible spending, hinting that a return to austerity is off the table. Instead, she emphasized that day-to-day expenses must align with tax receipts, given the current state of critical services like the NHS and prisons.

Yet the potential impact of these changes has sparked concerns among businesses, who argue that a National Insurance hike could dampen job creation and wage growth, ultimately hampering economic expansion. The government, however, maintains that these funds are essential to rescue the NHS, even as critics argue the increase is a “tax on jobs” and breaches the Labour manifesto.

Addressing the housing crisis

In addition to healthcare funding, the Chancellor is expected to unveil a £500 million initiative to build up to 5,000 affordable homes in England, aimed at addressing the national housing crisis. This will be accompanied by a consultation to limit Right to Buy, protecting council housing stock for future generations.

Meanwhile, the Fire Brigades Union has called on Reeves to deliver a Budget that ends what they describe as the “catastrophic austerity era.” In a letter to the Chancellor, Union leader Matt Wrack warned of potential strike action if the Budget does not provide substantial funding, citing severe hardship among firefighters due to prolonged real-term pay cuts.

As Wednesday approaches, Labour faces the task of balancing its commitment to economic growth with the urgent demands of public services. The Conservatives, however, have criticized the impending National Insurance hike, accusing Labour of redefining the term “working people” as the Budget deadline looms.

WAR Veteran Duncan Hilling has been reunited with an ‘old flame’ – who looks not a day older than ‘she’ did 80 years ago!

Duncan, a very active 98-year-old from Saundersfoot, visited the Tank Museum at Bovington, Dorset, specifically to see a wartime Universal Carrier, the tracked vehicle he drove in World War II. It is also known as a Bren Gun Carrier.

Thanks to Museum staff, Duncan was able to climb aboard, instantly recalling his days with the Royal Welsh Fusiliers.

Duncan served in India and was among the first British Army contingent as occupying forces in Japan, at the end of the war in August 1945. At that time he visited both Hiroshima and Nagasaki, cities destroyed by the first atomic bombs.

Said Duncan: “I felt like I had gone back in time 80 years. I spent two years with the same five carrier drivers. We drove all over India, Japan and Malaya. Sitting in the Bren Gun Carrier, it felt like they were still with me. So many memories.”

Joining Duncan down wartime memory lane were daughters Katrina Pearn and Miranda Davies and son Lyndon, who arranged the visit.