A contact lens buddy system

It’s about avoiding the optometrists sitting there and thinking, ‘oh, I’ve got another appointment. I’ve got someone else waiting; I’ve got clinic time. This isn’t cost effective.’ We decided that it would be really beneficial if I could, when the clinical side is done, take over and sit down with the patients who require it.

Adapting the buddy system for ortho-k patients

When one of our three optometrists comes out of the testing room with a patient who wants to try contact lenses for the first time, they introduce them to me and say, ‘Camilla is going to be your buddy. Ask her questions now, before you come back and we fit your contact lenses. Is there anything that scares you? Is there anything you want to know beforehand?’

I always make sure that the parents and the children know that I’m at the end of the phone if they need to ask me anything before they come in. I am there as their point of contact for any questions. I say to them, ‘Go away and practise holding your eye open.’ With children, I take the contact lens, put it in my own eye, take it out, and show them how easy it is and that it’s not scary or painful. We sit and work together, and find a specific way to make sure they’re comfortable.

Sometimes that means they do it on the day, and that’s fantastic. Sometimes they really want contact lenses, but they get to a certain point and then they can’t do anything more. A key aspect of the buddy system is that I can be bookable to them. Once they’ve had the clinic time, they can book teaches with me if they need to come back in.

A lot of patients have perhaps tried contact lenses at a practice where there are lots of people sitting around and they don’t see the same person each time, so progress isn’t congratulated as much. I usually use the separate testing room that we have, upstairs. It is just myself, the patient, and patient’s parent if needed. We put the Alexa on, I ask them what their favourite music is, we sit down and have a bit of a chat, and then we get into it. Young kids, actually, are usually fantastic.

I always make sure that the parents and the children know that I’m at the end of the phone if they need to ask me anything

Persistence paying off

One patient, in his mid-50s, really wanted contact lenses to play squash. We had a weekly catch-up, for half an hour. I think he had four teaches with me, week after week. As soon as he got it, he was raving about it. He’s now telling everyone and suggesting contact lenses to people, whereas he was ready to walk away after the first go.

It’s about getting people into the swing of contact lenses, signing them up to the direct debits, and then discussing wear time with them, as well as subscriptions and how many lenses they need. Obviously, that includes care – keeping in contact with them about hygiene and eye health. It’s the continuity that’s important.

We’ve had a few people who have previously tried contact lenses and not got on with them, or found they can put them in and take them out, but it takes them a long time, so they give up. At that point, our optometrists say to them, ‘I know the contact lens is fine. We’ve had a chat about it. Come back for a teach, sit with Camilla.’ Those 45 minutes often mean that it just clicks. Instantly, it’s no longer a faff, and they become religious contact lens wearers.

Building on the buddy message

We do shout about the buddy system on social media. We have done a tutorial, hosted on our website, so we can show people that it’s not that scary. Rather than a cartoon or an animation, it’s me putting a contact lens in my eye and taking it out.

I also have a little help card that I hand out to patients. It has a few details on the back, just to say, ‘here you go, if you have a panic, just drop us an email.’ It's quite nice in that it can provide some extra reassurance.