About

Aisling is an optometrist living in Gloucestershire. Following a degree at Cardiff University, she qualified in 2005 and began her career as a hospital optometrist. Aisling took a career break in 2009 to travel the world and on her return applied for a post as a specialist optometrist at Gloucestershire NHS FoundationTrust.

At the Trust she now works in Glaucoma Shared Care, neovascular AMD, post-op clinics, joint optometry-orthoptic clinics and specialist paediatric clinics. Aisling also works one day a week in a community practice in Gloucester city and is currently studying for the Independent Prescribing Qualification. She is also an external module leader for the WOPEC masters course based at Cardiff University.

After undergraduate studies at Aston University (1993-96), Ben completed his pre-registration at Oxford Eye Hospital and became a senior optometrist there in 2003. He continued studying at Manchester University and obtained an MSc in Ophthalmology and Vision Science. 

Ben currently works at the Bristol Eye Hospital as a glaucoma shared care optometrist and is the clinical lead in medical retina for the optometry department.  There are 18 optometrists working in the sub-speciality department, all of whom have been through the training and validation programme that Ben set up in 2010. 

Gill joined the Local Optical Committee Support Unit in 2010 as Director of Education and Training with the specific task to establish the LOCSU Leadership Module, now in its 4th year as part of the WOPEC MSc programme.  Gill continues to work for LOCSU as their Learning and Development Consultant and recent work includes the Peer Discussion Facilitator training days accredited by the College and ABDO, developing online training modules for LOC officers and supporting the National Optical Conference, an annual event for Local Optical Committees.

Heiko Pult is an Optometrist with around 20 year’s experience in clinical practice and research. He is CEO of the clinical practice 'Horst Riede GmbH' in Weinheim, Germany and additionally, an independent consultant and researcher at Dr. Heiko Pult – Optometry and Vision Research, Weinheim, Germany.

Heiko is Honorary Research Fellow at School of Optometry and Vision Sciences, Cardiff University, lecturer at WOPEC - modules include OPT014, and Academic Fellow at Aston University, Birmingham.

He is an author of numerous international publications and articles. Heiko's interests are cornea, contact lenses, dry eye, tear film and vision. 

Jane graduated from Aston University in 1984 and then worked for a number of years in Devon, Dorset and Somerset before relocating to East Yorkshire in 1991, where she has worked within the multiple and independent sector.

Since 2003 Jane has taken an active role within the East Yorks LOC as the Clinical Governance lead, providing training for both professional and support staff and as Clinical assessor during GOS contract compliance, also as the Clinical and Performance Lead for the LOC Company. Jane is a trained coach and facilitator, providing the facilitator training for the College of Optometrists and LOCSU ILM Coaching qualification.  Jane has continued her studying by completing the PG Certificate in Eye Care Governance, teaching module and is now studying Public Health.

Jane also works at Goole Hospital in the general clinics and has recently taken over a practice in Anlaby. When she has any spare time Jane likes to practice yoga, meditate and listen to music

Miss Kate Powell McOptom, DipOC, DipGlau, DipTp(AS), DipTp(SP), DipTp(IP), Prof Cert Med Ret

Kate Powell co leads the MSc Medical Retina Module provided by WOPEC leading on diabetic eye disease and is the Optometric Education and Research lead at Bristol Eye Hospital (BEH) where she has worked for over 20 years. Experienced across a range of specialities, she has a sub-speciality interest in medical retina care and works within the dynamic multi-disciplinary Medical Retina team at BEH . For many years she has been closely involved in the Bristol and Weston Diabetic Eye Screening Programme and is particularly passionate about increasing the understanding and knowledge of optometrists in the care of patients with diabetes.

Marek qualified as an Optometrist in 1993. He trained at Moorfields Eye Hospital, London where he continued to work as a senior staff member involved in a wide range of clinical, research and teaching work until 1998. He joined the Royal National Institute for the Blind in the same year, where he worked in a number of roles including Deputy Head of the Low Vision and Eye Health Team and Clinical Lead at the Judd Street Low Vision Centre. He left his last RNIB post as Senior Optometric Advisor in 2009.

He now works part-time in practice and is a tutor and assessor at the Wales Optometry Post Graduate Education Centre (Cardiff University) and a regular contributor to post graduate courses at Institute of Education and the International Centre for Eye Health.

Maggie specialises in vision in children with special needs, vision in infants and vision testing in patients with disabilities.

She has been a member of the Academic Staff at Cardiff for many years. Maggie is a qualified Optometrist and runs a Special Assessment Clinic which offers Optometric Services to infants and young children, and to patients of all ages with special needs, including profound learning disabilities. This is currently the only clinic of its kind in England and Wales. Maggie is part of the team teaching eye care in special needs at undergraduate level, and also leads the newly released Paediatric module and the Eye Care in People with Learning Disabilities module here in WOPEC, part of the postgraduate awards.

Maggie's work has been recognised with an OBE in the 2014 Birthday Honours List, and a Lifetime Achievement Award in the 2015 Association of Optical Practitioners Awards.

Nita is a qualified optometrist with 19 years of experience in the UK and abroad. She also holds a Master's in Public Health for Eye Care and has used her skills in planning and delivering eye care programmes.

Currently, she works as a senior optometrist in Leicester Royal Infirmary and her areas of special interest are glaucoma and paediatric eye care. She is a module leader for the new Ophthalmic Public Health module and assists in the delivery of Glaucoma modules. She hopes to continue making a contribution in reducing preventable sight loss in the UK and abroad.

Peter is an optometrist and director of an independent practice. He is secretary of his local LOC and a director of the AOP.  He does some work with the AOP legal department performing performance assessments and providing member advice. He is also the AOP lead on the Information and IT committee.  He is a post graduate researcher at Aston University with an interest in Bayesian theory.

Rachel is currently the module leader for Eyecare in Diabetes. Her research interests include:

• Diabetes and its ocular complications
• Glaucoma
• Vision and falls in the elderly
• Retinal function in cystic fibrosis

Teifi is a consultant ophthalmic surgeon practicing in Yorkshire. He trained at St Mary’s Hospital, Paddington (London University) qualifying in 1983 before working in Windsor for 3 years with Jack Kanski. In 1993 he became the youngest ever council member of the Royal College of Ophthalmologists.

Teifi specialises in the management of uveitis and scleritis, caring for over 1200 of these patients. He also has a general ophthalmology practice and has performed about twelve thousand cataract operations including over five hundred procedures in uveitic eyes. In 2004 Teifi set up the EyeBag Company, which he runs alongside his clinical practice. Over the last decade he has lectured extensively on Meibomian Gland Dysfunction; the tear film and the ocular surface.

Trevor has been a self-employed optometrist in independent practice since 1979. He has been Stockport LOC chairman since April 1994 which has enabled him to be involved in the development and introduction of several optometric enhanced service schemes in Stockport, covering diabetic retinopathy screening (the original slbio), pre- and post-operative cataract schemes, IOP repeats and a children’s cycloplegic refraction scheme.  

He is currently lead optometrist for the South Manchester diabetic retinopathy screening service, which is one of the largest optometry-based screening services in the country.

Trevor has a keen interest in continuing education and has organised numerous education evenings for local optometrists. He has given many lectures in the UK and overseas, with particular interests being record keeping, digital fundus imaging and diabetic retinopathy screening.

In 1994 he was elected as the Association of Optometrists’ representative for Manchester and in May 2002 was elected to the Board of Directors, and chaired the Association’s Professional Services Committee from May 2002 to May 2006. Trevor sat as the elected Chairman of the AOP for two years. In June 2008, he was appointed as part-time Clinical Advisor to the AOP Legal Department.