Specsavers Australia and New Zealand has announced the recipients of the prestigious Doug Perkins Medal and Dame Mary Perkins Awards for 2025 at the annual Specsavers Clinical Conference (SCC) in Melbourne over the weekend.
A media release said the awards acknowledged a continued focus on outstanding excellence in clinical performance and patient care within the optometry field.
This year’s Doug Perkins Medal winners are Specsavers Nowra Plaza in Australia and Specsavers South Dunedin in New Zealand.
Specsavers head of clinical performance Mr Nick Gidas, who presented the awards, said the Doug Perkins Medal was awarded to one Australian and one New Zealand store each year that consistently upheld the highest standards of clinical excellence.
“To select the finalists, we analyse nationwide data collected through our clinical reporting, combining this information with patient feedback and health outcome data.”
The winners are those stores that have shown consistent excellence and exceptional data in the areas of patient outcomes, patient experience, store processes, accessible eye health, and workplace culture.
“We are delighted to crown Specsavers Nowra Plaza and Specsavers South Dunedin with this year’s award in recognition of their exceptional commitment to clinical care throughout the year,” he said.
The Dame Mary Perkins Award for Outstanding Patient Care celebrates and recognised the extraordinary impact optometrists had on the lives of their patients, the release said.
It was judged by industry professionals including Ms Chrissie Cowan, co-chair of Eye Health Aotearoa and CEO of Kapo Maori Aotearoa; Ms Carly Iles, CEO of Vision 2020 Australia; and Mr Ross Piper, CRO of The Fred Hollows Foundation.
Specsavers said this year’s award was presented to two optometrists who demonstrated an exceptional commitment to patient care, going above and beyond to make a positive difference: Ms Tiana Nix from Specsavers Nowra Central, NSW and Ms Taylor Xue from Porirua, NZ.
The 2025 winners of the Graduate and Early Career Optometry Excellence Awards were also announced at SCC.
These recognise optometrists who have excelled in both the Graduate Program and the Early Career Optometry (ECO) Program.
They acknowledge the exceptional contributions of our graduate (first and second year of practice) and early career (third and fourth year of practice) optometrists to their stores and communities across Australia and New Zealand and highlight their dedication, professionalism, and positive impact on changing lives through better sight.
The winners were: Mr Anas Mujtaba, Specsavers Nowra Plaza, (Graduate Optometry Excellence Award) and to Ms Subin Kim, Specsavers Helensvale (Early Career Optometry Excellence Award).
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