How we're protecting you

A message from our CEO, Ryan Leighton

There is little doubt that these are difficult and unsettling times. Since Leightons was founded by my grandfather more than 92 years ago, steering the company through the good times, as well as the bad, has been my family’s focus and our privilege.

We continue to recognise that privilege. Since that first day in Southampton in 1928, when my grandfather remarked that “the sky was metaphorically blue, for at 11 o’clock, in came my first prescription”, we have been honoured by the loyalty and support shown to this business by you, our patients.

Now, as the country begins to slowly pick itself back up, we owe it to each and every one of you to provide you with the opportunity to receive essential vision care, and hearing care, in an environment in which you feel protected and safe, via a dedicated team who have your personal wellbeing as their sole focus.

Leightons Opticians & Hearing Care is built upon one overriding purpose, to help people see and to hear and live life as fully as possible. We believe our purpose will be delivered if we Listen, Empathise, Educate and Delight, which is what we refer to as our DNA. We also have seven guiding principles that shape our decisions and bind us together in everything that we do. Here’s how we are applying them to new behaviours and ways of working to welcome you back into our practices safely:

We support each other

Our Dedicated Patient Support team, as the name suggests, is here to support you and our practices. They will assist with your initial enquiry, and an experienced team of optometrists and audiologists will talk to you in detail prior to any face-to-face appointments. Our practice teams are available to look after you safely and securely for any essential eye care needs or hearing requirements. We are supporting each other, to ensure expert care is available where and when it is needed.

We’re constantly improving

We have spent a great deal of time planning the most effective, accessible and safest ways to welcome you back, but we have also tried to make the best of this situation and improve. We think you’ll agree that many of our new ways of working that have been forced upon us are fast becoming even better ways for us to help serve your needs with even more attention to detail and care.

We’re passionate about excellence

Our ongoing investments in the latest clinical technology, as well as the highest quality products, have always put excellence firmly at our heart. Now, we have extended that passion for excellence to include thoroughly researched and tested protective measures such as PPE, sanitisation and changing our appointment management to ensure optimal time with us in a safe way. Click here for more details.

We’re with our customers for life

We hear so many delightful stories of when you first visited Leightons as a child, and then through the years, and now you’re bringing children or grandchildren of your own. The company has survived many challenges in its history, and it’s done so through its shared belief in family and family values, treating our patients as an extension of our own. We want to build relationships for life.

We’re part of the community

We pride ourselves on providing expert vision and hearing, but our practices have always been more than that. They’ve been a location on a community treasure hunt, a collection point for toy donations, the hosts of a charity cake sale, or simply somewhere to pop into for a cup of tea and a chat as you pass by. Over the past few months, we’ve tried to support our patients and our communities remotely and with essential face-to-face care as best we can and we will continue to do so. But in time, we would hope that perhaps you could also visit us for some much-needed social contact too.

We’re always learning and growing

This is a situation we have never faced before, but everyone at Leightons has learned to adapt quickly and effectively. While our practices have been closed, our teams have participated in numerous online training courses, to keep them actively engaged in their chosen field and specialist areas of optometry and audiology. They have also received training in the use of PPE and social distancing measures, which they will be able to guide you through when you visit.

We encourage and celebrate success

Although many of us are looking ahead to the broader successes of a return to a more “normal” lifestyle, we also want to celebrate wins along the way. Whether that is helping you with an essential eye care need or assisting you with your hearing, these really are in fact the big successes. At times like this, these successes become even more noticeable and rewarding for all our people. They also act as a poignant reminder of why we exist.

Whether we will be supporting you with a remote consultation, or maybe we will be seeing you in practice soon, please be reassured that the Leightons family will continue to be here to welcome you as safely as possible, for all your vision and hearing needs.

Best wishes,
Ryan Leighton, CEO