Couple with clear vision

From the The Oxford Times, first published Thursday 18th Jan 2007.

If you think an optician is someone who can test your eyesight and prescribe spectacles, the chances are you have not had your eyes checked since the early 1980s.

Since the deregulation of optical services in the 1980s, the term optician applies to someone who can only fit and sell spectacles, while having your eyes professionally tested means visiting an optometrist - someone who is recognised to have studied and trained accordingly.

Although it was just a change in name, it meant that optometrists had to diversify to compete.

A husband-and-wife team doing just that is Andrew and Lisa Morgan.

Both optometrists - they met while training at the Oxford eye hospital - the pair have now bought a Kidlington practice, formerly owned by David White.

Well known throughout Oxfordshire, Mr White is retiring after more than 30 years in the business but his name will live on as Mr and Mrs Morgan have renamed the business Morgan White.

Mrs Morgan, 39, said: "I think it is nice to keep David's name over the door. His name has been here for so long that it would be sad to just take it away altogether."

And while Mr White is continuing to work part-time with the Morgans, they are running the business and hope to modernise it to stay as competitive as possible.

"You can't rest on your laurels in this day and age, and that's a good thing," said Mr Morgan, 40.

"With people buying glasses and contact lenses on the Internet, we need to make sure we have something to offer."

He continued: "It makes us examine how we practice, and means that we have to be far more transparent with our pricing."

Now, contact lenses at Morgan White are just as cheap, if not cheaper than Internet prices.

"We have separated the price of the lenses from the price of a consultation. Patients appreciate that more," added Mr Morgan.

Morgan White hopes to offer customers more choice too. Mrs Morgan explained: "We have a full range of spectacles from NHS to designer Fendi or Silhouette glasses, and if someone comes in for something that we don't have, we will try and order it for them."

Both practising optometrists for more than 15 years, the business side of things has been a steep learning curve for the couple.

"We took over the business in September," said Mrs Morgan, who also works at the Oxford Eye Hospital three days a week.

"There has been a lot to learn, but we are getting there."

The Morgans already had a good relationship with Mr White, which made the decision to take over a little easier. Mr Morgan said: "I have worked for David on and off since I came to Oxford "And down through the years I have come to know a lot of people who visit the practice. I like that connection.

"I have built up relationships, and that is what I really like about having my own practice."

Indeed, becoming an optometrist in the first place was something Mr Morgan hoped would marry his love for science with his desire to deal with people.

"I wanted to study science but use it in a practical way to help people. Most scientists are stuck in a lab, but I didn't want that."

He added: "This is a good way of combining biology and physics - life sciences - with real people."

Mrs Morgan believes people should have their eyes checked once a year.

She said: "People get their hair cut three or four times a year but don't think about having their eyes examined, which is probably cheaper."

The couple also specialise in children, and have introduced a free range of spectacles for them.

Mrs Morgan said: "I see a lot of children at the hospital and we have two young boys ourselves."

She continued: "It's not routine for children to be checked now, so I think it is important that parents ensure their children's eyes are examined."

These days, glasses can be bought for virtually nothing at many high street shops, but that does not mean the routine check-up should be sacrificed.

"It is important to find out what the cause behind the loss of sight is," explained Mrs Morgan.

"Glaucoma is one of the bigger risks people are facing."

As well as this, new regulations say that people with contact lenses must also have an annual examination.

"Although this is a regulation put in place to protect the patient, many don't do it," said Mrs Morgan.

"There are risks. You only hear about it in the papers when someone loses an eye, but this kind of thing can be prevented by regular checks."

Contact: Morgan White, 01865 372125

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