STAFF at the Swindon-born Outside Clinic are celebrating after getting one of the highest industry accreditations for clinical excellence.

The Outside Clinic, which provides home optometry and audiology services to around 100,000 patients across the UK from its HQ on High Street, has been awarded the IQIPS (Improving Quality in Physiological Services) for demonstrating excellence in its adult audiology service.

The Old Town business started with a small team of optometrists in 1987 and now employs more than 200 people in Swindon. It has been working for four years to win the coveted accreditation.

Clinical lead for audiology Ian McKendrick told the Adver: “What’s important about the accreditation is that it’s trying to make sure everybody, no matter where you go for NHS services, does the same thing to ensure everyone is treated with respect and fairness.

“Especially in a domiciliary environment because we’re going into patients’ homes, so we need to make sure that they’re comfortable with us and coming in that everything is done with the upmost professionalism that we should do.”

Head of professional services Nick Wingate said: “I think we’re really fortunate to have such a great team whether it’s senior management level, everybody who works with us is passionate about providing a fantastic service.”

“We deal with mainly very elderly people who deserve the best service and we’re very privileged to be allowed into their homes and we instil that in all our staff who have to understand that.

“If we’re not going to look after our elderly people who have given so much to our country in the past we’re not in a good position, so we have to provide that fantastic service.”

Presenting the award Ethna Glean added: “We had to make sure the company could give individualised personal care to all patients. There is a standard to be met. My understanding of the accreditation is that logistically it was a nightmare because we had snow over the assessment period.

“There’s a lot others could learn from them, next I would like to see them presenting at the British Academy for Audiology conference.”