IN THE midst of the coronavirus outbreak, Specsavers employees on the Isle of Wight have been going above and beyond to help their customers, with the stores in Newport and Ryde doing home visits and deliveries to customers.

In a time of isolation, not being able to hear or see can increase feelings of loneliness so it is more crucial than ever to get to customers to help with any issues they might be having.

One customer, a man in his 90s, became worried after realising he could not read or see the TV as clearly as he could a couple of weeks ago.

After filling out a Covid-19 triage, the store identified that he had previously suffered from a detached retina.

Following this, the team at Ryde immediately booked the gentleman in for an appointment free of charge to investigate further.

The Newport team also received a message from a mother whose son had broken his glasses.

As the boy is registered blind, he relies heavily on his glasses to go about day-to-day life, meaning he needed a replacement pair as soon as possible.

The team at the Newport store were able to successfully replace and deliver the boy’s glasses to him in two hours.

Specsavers’ teams are classed as key workers to provide urgent and essential eye care and ear care to those who need it.

This includes supporting other key workers who couldn’t function without their help and people who would come to harm without their health expertise, especially where the usual hospital services and NHS facilities are being prioritised for the fight against Covid-19.