About the Speakers

Welcome to our Independents Day speaker lineup! Discover below the esteemed experts and thought leaders who will be sharing their insights and expertise during this exciting event.

Nick is a director and shareholder of the multi award winning independent practice BBR Optometry in Hereford, UK.

 

BBR Optometry is a large single site practice with six consulting rooms and 24 staff delivering several profitable specialist services including Tear Clinics, Specialist Contact Lenses and Myopia Management.

 

After joining what was Bishop Bishop & Rumney in 2001, the practice evolved to BBR Optometry, with Nick becoming a director in 2005. In December 2020 BBR Optometry joined the Hakim Group.

 

As a CLO / LV optician Nick has special interests in low vision and specialist contact lenses, delivering hospital contact lenses in the community into five counties.  In addition to any clinical activity a key role is working with the team at BBR Optometry to deliver the expansion of current skills and potential services.

 

Born and schooled in NZ, Nick attended Victoria University completing a BSc in psychology in 1991. Growing up in an optical family dynasty with a father, grandfather, uncle, cousin and step-sister all involved within the optical business Nick escaped to the UK in 1993 and all optical training has been UK based.

 

Outside of the practice Nick has been involved with Association of British Dispensing Opticians, joining the Low Vision and CET Committees, representing the association on multi-disciplinary committees such as the England Implementation Group of the UK Vision Strategy. Nick was an initial member of the ABDO National Clinical Committee and locally been active member of the Local Optical Committee of Herefordshire which delivers no fewer than eight vital enhanced services in the community.

Coming soon…

Trusit is an Optometrist, Researcher and Inventor.  He has a PhD which involved research into corneal topography, aberrometry and the development of topography-based algorithms.  He is the owner of an Optometry practice in Coventry, specialising in Dry eye and Keratoconus.  He is also a fellow of the American Academy of Optometry.  Trusit has published papers in various journals and also the co-author of Orthokeratology: Principals & Practice.  Trusit has lectured all over the World and is a consultant to the medical device industry, a medico legal expert and co-inventor of a technology owned by Topcon.  Trusit is the Founder and Chairman of Optimed which is the developer of CAPTIV8 Connect, a patient engagement, e-referral and digital healthcare solution for ophthalmologists and optometrists.

 

Coming soon…

Dermot is a Clinical Optometrist practicing for over 25 years

He has become a Specialist Optometrist gaining additional post grad qualifications in Glaucoma and Therapeutic prescribing.

Dermot has experience across a wide range of practices, starting off his career as director of a high-street multiple when franchises were just beginning  along with  15 years of sessional work at the  Gloucestershire Trust in their glaucoma clinic.

In 2016, with a desire to embrace the opportunities which were becoming available to Optometrists, he took full ownership of Keith Holland Optometry in Cheltenham where he and his team now run an extremely successful practice. Dermot is forward thinking and passionate about providing the highest level of clinical care.          

A career highlight was also his early role in the setting up many NHS pathways and services now available in Gloucestershire.

 Outside of work, he is a keen rugby supporter, enjoys running, surfing and playing golf.

Craig is a practicing optometrist, director and co-owner of Peter Ivins Eye Care, an award-winning optometric practice in Bearsden, Glasgow, Scotland.   He is a clinical advisor and consultant to a number of companies and a frequent contributor to UK industry optometric journals Optician and Optometry Today. Craig lectures extensively throughout the UK, Europe and further afield on a variety of subjects including myopia management, ocular surface disease, specialist imaging, specialist contact lenses fitting and use of cutting-edge technology in optometric practice. 

Craig developed Scotland’s first dedicated myopia management clinic within Peter Ivins Eye Care in 2013. In his previous role Craig developed the United Kingdom’s first nationwide macular screening programme for Scotland’s largest independent optical chain.

He is a consultant with Purple Ivy a bespoke business consultancy, where he offers insight and advice into integrated practice management systems, website design, use of social media and business intelligence solutions.  Craig is a visiting lecturer at Glasgow Caledonian University’s optometry programme, where he also tutors 4th year undergraduate students and teaches post-graduate students on the university’s independent prescribing diploma. He is also a clinical tutor as part of the University of New South Wales Overseas Preceptorship Program.

From a teenage optical assistant to Dispensing Optician, manager and Contact Lens Optician, Beth has worked her way through almost every role in practice. Her wide range of experience with both multiples and in-dependant practice has given her the skills to bring a traditional practice into the future with specialist contact lens fitting, myopia management and dry eye clinics.

Purvi is a specialist optometrist who, since qualifying in 2004, has gained vast experience in different sectors within Optometry. For seven years she worked and managed a high street practice before moving into the hospital industry and has worked with OCL Vision since 2014 as their Lead Optometrist. She has specific training and expertise in working with patients who require vision correction, such as laser eye surgery or refractive lens exchange surgery and gained her independent prescribing qualification in 2020.

She has a keen interest in ocular surface disease and has set up a successful dry eye clinic at her current place of work where she specialises in patient education as well as offering treatments for mild to severe dry eye.

She also works in the contact lens department at the Luton and Dunstable NHS hospital fitting specialist contact lenses.

 

Craig trained as an Optometrist in Johannesburg South Africa and went on to specialise in The Treatment & Management of Ocular Disease & Pharmaceutical Application and Developmental Vision & Public Health from the New England College of Optometry Boston, USA.
 
He is on the Specialist register of the General Optical Association and member of the British College of Optometrists, British Contact lens Association, Association of Optometrists and the British Association of Behavioural Optometrists.

Ready for an insightful conference?