Still Leading at 70: Yuen Lambert’s Journey from NHS to National Nursing Mentor

Yuen Lambert – Principal Ophthalmic Nurse at SpaMedica – reveals how her passion for eye health means she has no plans to clock off at aged 70.

In fact, Yuen has embarked upon a new chapter of her career as part of the SpaMedica family. Appointed initially as an advanced nurse practitioner, Yuen quickly earned promotion to a pivotal role in the company, now helping develop the skills of around 400-plus nurses nationwide and support SpaMedica’s network of optometrists.

In a sector facing workforce challenges and an ageing population – and with the International Monetary Fund reporting that the global economy needs workers aged 70-plus – Yuen’s experience provides a hopeful insight into opportunities for later-life healthcare professionals.

As the UK marks Cataract Awareness Month 2025 this June, Yuen talks through how her passion and purpose have shaped her extensive career in ophthalmology.

Why did your retirement only last five days?

In the NHS, I was used to working full time week, but my children kept saying I should think about retiring, so I did, at 65. But, we were in the midst of COVID and I thought ‘I can’t just sit around doing nothing’, so I rang up my local COVID team and asked them if they needed help with testing. Of course they did, and I was back to working 40 hours just one week later. After five months I did feel a bit wasted – you don’t need to think a lot in that kind of testing role, so I began looking for other opportunities. Ultimately, my children realised quickly that I couldn’t just sit still, I wanted to work.

How has ophthalmology changed during your career?

I was living in Liverpool, aged 19 when I did my exams to enter nursing with four friends, switching from secretarial work after realising it wasn’t for me.

When I first entered the profession, in the early 1980s, cataract patients would stay in hospital for around three weeks! And the surgical procedure involved stitches, with retinal detachment patients not even allowed to get out of bed until the day they were going home. Thanks to a change of consultant team in my NHS unit in Wigan there was a swift advancement of practise; the jump from a two or three week turnaround to day cases happened within a year. It felt like 200,000mph strides forward, almost overnight.

How did the role at SpaMedica arise?

I knew a consultant at SpaMedica who was responsible for medical retina services, and I got in touch and asked if they might benefit from my experience. I love ophthalmology, it’s my passion. I want to share the knowledge I’ve gathered and pass it onto the next generation of nurses. So I accepted a full time job as an ANP, and I’ve never looked back.   

What is the scope of your work today?

I’m one of two Ophthalmic Nurse Practitioners (ONP) in the company who is a non medical prescriber. I deliver medical retina and cataract training and I’m involved with the multidisciplinary team too, supporting the optometrist CPD programme.

Multidisciplinary practise is really important at SpaMedica, working alongside our skilled optometrists for the benefit of the patient.

In my position, I use my clinical expertise to help the nurses assess if patients are fit for surgery, for instance, discussing a robust line of questions that need to be asked to make that evaluation. So at pre-assessment we’re finding out how long a patient has experienced vision issues, is it nighttime only, or daytime too, are these issues with or without glasses, how long have symptoms been present, what other health issues might be a factor – all kinds of queries. It’s not just a tick box exercise, our focus is completely on the patient. And we always consider that the patient could be your mother, grandfather, auntie, child – that’s the quality of care we need to deliver – the same as if it was your own family member.

Within SpaMedica, a proportion of our nursing staff have joined us from the care sector, and so I can offer them the benefit of my ophthalmic experience.

Overall, I’m responsible for the development of over 400 nurses across SpaMedica’s 64 hospitals – helping them deliver a high quality patient experience and clinical excellence.

Currently I’m training four ONPs, as we expand our services. They will gain expertise in conditions such as wet age-related macular degeneration, retinal vein occlusions and diabetic macular oedema. This role offers leadership and trainer opportunities, as well as the chance to develop their practice via advanced degrees in prescribing.

What’s your advice to other nurses working in ophthalmology?

This is a complex specialty and there’s so much to absorb, so my advice is to never stop learning.

I’m still learning all the time – when I joined SpaMedica I was new to video conferencing, and had to get to grips with Teams calls. Being in this role has developed my skillset in many ways because within the NHS I was responsible for one unit. And we’ve expanded from 17 hospitals when I joined to 64 today, so the remit has broadened significantly.

Importantly, I encourage the nurses I work with not to view this as a job that pays the bills – it is so hugely fulfilling as a career path. Of course everyone’s different, but I encourage my trainees to value what they’re doing and what they have to offer. If you find the job a chore, you shouldn’t be doing it. It’s not fair to yourself, your colleagues, or your patients. Also, we’re in the healthcare profession – we have to care for patients – it’s so important not to forget that.

Where does such a commitment to work derive from?

I was born in Hong Kong from a very poor family. And in those days, as a child you helped out. In fact, from the age of eight or nine I’ve worked and contributed to the family. I left Hong Kong when I was 13, and worked in a local chippy. My own upbringing was very different to how I’ve raised my own children. I spoil them!

Do you plan to retire, again?

At 70, I don’t think my age has an impact on what I have to offer to this profession. There are potentially healthcare professionals in their 40s who are less well equipped or capable to do the job.

When I can’t do the role physically or mentally, or I begin to lose the passion, that’s when I’ll consider retirement. But I’m not at that stage yet, and I’m very lucky to be in good health.

I’m also extremely proud of the nurses I’ve had the privilege of working with at SpaMedica. Seeing them fulfil their potential is what gets me out of bed in the morning.

Even when the time comes to slow down or stop work, I’ve got five granddaughters – ranging from aged 20 to one week old – so I’m sure they will keep me busy!