You’ll notice that there has been a bit of activity in the old Thresher Wine Rack unit recently. As we revealed back in June, a new family optometrist will be opening there in September.
We caught up with Alex Gage, who is opening his new Crosspool practice in September, to find out a bit more about him and his business.
Tell us a bit about the optometrist practices you run in different locations.
We are moving from Broomhill where we had a smaller premises and parking was difficult. We also have branch at Woodseats where I started in 1996.
What are your impressions of Crosspool? Do you live locally?
Crosspool is a lovely place we used to live there when the King’s Head still served beer. We used to sit in there and say “In years to come we can look back and say I remember when all this was fields” but I think the school field is still there, just not the pub.
Why did you decide to open an optometrist in Crosspool?
As I say we lived in Crosspool in a terraced house before my eldest daughter Emma could walk, but wanted to find somewhere with a garden instead of a concrete yard for children to play in. It still has that community feel and with the schools around I think there are lots of families around which we hope to serve well for all there vision needs.
What sort of services will you be offering residents?
We will offer the usual vision services: NHS & Private eye exam, spectacles, contact lenses including Overnight Vision Correction (OVC) where you wear lenses overnight and don’t need to wear them the next day. My wife Sarah started this about 18 months ago and hasn’t looked back.
We’ll sell good quality sunglasses for all the family: you wouldn’t dream of sending your kids out without suncream for their skin but how many make sure their kids protect their eyes from UV as well? We will be providing the choice to help parents and children alike.
We will also be offering Behavioural optometry which I am accredited and a member of BABO. This helps people especially children to understand the world we live and the information their eyes are giving them (more info at www.babo.co.uk).
We are also hoping to provide sports vision to help athletes improve their game, by maximising the efficiency of their vision. I have also been working with a Sheffield-based engineer with hid new putting programme called Break 30 which aims to help golfers get a round with less than 30 puts.
What approach do you have to optometry and what are your plans for the practice in the future?
I think the above gives a good idea of my plans and hope that by attracting families we can help all members of the family with their vision needs. It is easier if families come together, they only have to remember one appointment and they can get help and support with choosing spectacles as well as advice from us on what suits there needs best.
Crosspool’s new optometrist will be opening in early September.
Crosspool News - crosspool.info 