Biographies

Lynne Hadley

President

Lynne Hadley has worked as Ophthalmology Matron in East Kent since 2001 and has over thirty years nursing experience. Lynne started her career in Day Surgery where she gained experience in ward, theatre recovery and pre-assessment.

Lynne completed her Nurse Practitioner Degree in 2001 and went on to complete an MSc in Interprofessional Health and Social Care and a Post Graduate Certificate in Healthcare Management. Lynne is a Mental Health first aider and has recently completed her Professional Nurse Advocate (PNA) course, she is a qualified assessor and has recently become qualified as an internal verifier.

Lynne is passionate about creating a future workforce fit for purpose and has contributed to the development of apprenticeships for ophthalmology. Lynne has managed to combine her nursing skills with a love of travel and has participated in voluntary work in various countries around the world.

Lynne was on the council of The International Ophthalmic Nurses Association (IONA) for five years and took up the role of President in 2017, she remains on the board of the new IONA. Lynne is enthusiastic about the challenges that the new Association of Ophthalmic Nurses and Technicians (AONT) will bring and is excited to be helping drive ophthalmic nursing into the 21st Century.

Matt Mahey, Treasurer

BSc(Hons) Healthcare, Adult RN, Ophthalmic Nurses Dip, Paediatric RN

Counselling Certificate, Leadership & Management

Matt has worked within Ophthalmology for over 20 years within various NHS Trusts across London and Midlands. Currently working as Matron for Imperial College Healthcare Trust London based at Western Eye Hospital, London.

He is passionate and committed to his work and has a drive for Ophthalmology and Ophthalmic practice and continues to support and facilitate staff development within clinical practice. With a clinical role, Matt continues to work in sub specialities within ophthalmology from Eye emergency care and elective surgery – pre-assessment and within areas of adult nursing. Matt has trained at Great Ormond Street Hospital, London in Paediatric nursing.

Matt has contributed to supporting patients within his scope of Ophthalmic nursing – working closely with Eye clinic liaison team and patients with low vision impairment and demonstrating proactive pathways and delivering care in challenging cases for patients in managing long term treatment with a multidisciplinary approach. Matt has undertaken further training within counselling, and completed Certificate with University, London. He has keen interest within Diabetes and health promotion.

Matt has also worked within the Private sector for assessing and treating patients with ocular surface related diseases – Dry Eyes Treatment and in part NHS Cataract initiative clinics and Post operative care and seeing patients for Glaucoma phasing.

We are delighted to have Matt on board with AONT and as current council member his primary role as treasurer and also contributes towards education, providing over-all support for the organisational development and networking for ‘London Ophthalmic Nurses Forum’ Matt is keen in delivering, developing and maintaining safe effective quality planned care and within sub specialties – as Matron within the Division and directorate of Ophthalmology.

John Cooper, Vice-Chair

MSc, MRes(Clin), BSc (Hons), RGN

Advanced Nurse Practitioner & Oculoplastic Specialist Nurse

Manchester Royal Eye Hospital

Vice-chair AORN

On qualifying in 1992, John was successfully employed at Manchester Royal Eye Hospital (MREH) originally starting work as a staff nurse on the ophthalmic ward and then in 2004 (after gaining the ophthalmic course and theatre experience) becoming an anaesthetic charge nurse in theatre.

Thereafter John changed direction slightly and embraced the opportunity to become an oculoplastic specialist nurse and continued to develop a multifaceted role that encompassed elements of wound-care, counselling, teaching and education, theatre anaesthetic and scrub skills.

John has attained a bachelor’s degree in nursing practice and a post-graduate Master’s degree in Clinical Research at University of Manchester.

In 2013 John was given the prestigious opportunity to undertake an Advanced Nurse Practitioner Master’s degree at University of Salford, the first of such roles in the MREH which he subsequently completed in 2015.

John was a member of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) ophthalmic forum committee for several years and has been involved in developing national guidance and policy including ‘The nature, scope and value of ophthalmic nursing (2016)’. He has spoken at various conferences both nationally and internationally. More recently John became an elected Staff Governor of the Manchester Foundation Trust.

In 2020 John published a book, ‘Oculoplastic Nursing Care: Key Concepts’ (M&K publishing).

Presently, John’s role as an Advanced Clinical Practitioner allows him, amongst various other things, to undertake surgical practice including minor-op procedures as well as reviewing patients in several oculoplastic clinics at the MREH. He also co-ordinates and undertakes temporal artery biopsies, the only such role in the UK.

John is married to Joanne (whom he met whilst she too was working in theatres in the MREH) and has two children Sean and Kieran. Out of work John enjoys an eclectic mix of birdwatching and rock music, but not at the same time.

Juliat Burns

RGN, OND, PN, BA (Hons) MSc

Juliat Burns, was the Head of  Ophthalmic  Clinical Services at PPG based at Croft Shifa Health Centre, Rochdale. She is a passionate Ophthalmic Nurse and was previously the Ophthalmic Department Manager at North Cheshire Warrington and Halton Hospitals, NHS Foundation Trust. Juliat has implemented many Nurse Led clinics and is at the forefront of innovation.

She has served two years as a Committee Member for the European Society for Ophthalmic Nurses and Technicians. Juliat became an Ophthalmic Forum Nurse Committee Member in January 2015 and became a Board Member of the England Vision Strategy in April 2016.

Juliat has presented papers in Europe and England. When she  worked at Moorfields Eye Hospital, she had several papers published and she presented a paper entitled, “Non-Financial factors that aid Recruitment and Retention of Ophthalmic Nursing Staff” at the International Ophthalmic Nurse Association Conference and won the Carmichael Memorial Award. After being invited to join the Glaucoma Research Team at Moorfields Eye Hospital, Juliat has the privilege of demonstrating ‘Telemedicine’ to The Queen.

Juliat has participated in Nice Guidelines workshops for Cataract and Age-Related Macular Degeneration. She attended an afternoon tea reception at the House of Lord on the 12th of January 2016 for the launch of the Eye Health and Sight Loss Manifesto.

Tara Matare

(Nurse Consultant) BSc, MBA, MSc, NMP

Tara started her journey in the NHS in 1990. She has always shown an unwavering dedication to her career and completed an MBA, MSC in Advanced clinical practice  and Non-medical prescribing. Tara has a total of over 25yrs experience in ophthalmology and achieved her dream to become a Nurse Consultant.

One of her proudest moments came in 2019 when she was awarded the coveted RCNi Leadership and Nurse of the Year award, for her life-long contributions and improvements to the profession she loves. ‘A dream does not become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work’ and Tara can proudly proclaim that her hard work took her where she was able to share her work and develop expertise with like-minded colleagues. She has a wide network and shares good practice with colleagues locally, nationally, and internationally.

Tara has much to offer and holds herself to almost unreachable high standards, refusing to give up until the impossible has been achieved. Her career is a testament to this determination and drive.’

Diva Shah

Eye Clinic Liaison Officer (ECLO)

Provides practical and emotional support to patients losing their sight. Sight loss impacts individuals differently. ECLOs conduct a needs assessment to provide holistic support to patients when accessing health and social care. Mainly, ECLOs ensure people affected by sight loss can access the right support and services to unlock their potential to get an education, earn a living and maintain their wellbeing. ECLOs are pivotal in eye departments to improve accessibility and patient experience, reducing the impact of disability and promoting wellbeing.

Catherine Dardis

(MSc, PG Cert, BSc Hons, RGN)

Ophthalmic nurse Practitioner/ Grader NIDESP

Belfast Health and Social Care Trust/ NIDESP

Cathy is currently working as an Ophthalmic Nurse Practitioner for the Macular Service in Belfast.  Cathy started her ophthalmic career in the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast, working in an Eye Outpatients’ department / Eye casualty before moving to an Ophthalmology surgical ward.

In 2009, she moved to London and joined the Medical Retina team at Moorfield’s Eye Hospital for over 4 years. Since returning to Northern Ireland in 2013, Cathy has been working as a Nurse Practitioner within Medical Retina as well as a grader for the Northern Ireland Diabetic Eye Screening Programme.

Cathy’s areas of clinical interest / expertise include Macular Degeneration, Retinal Vein Occlusions, Diabetic Eye disease, neuro-ophthalmology, developing advanced nursing roles within ophthalmology, quality improvement in healthcare and diabetic eye screening.

Tendai Gwenhure

Ophthalmic Clinical Educator

RGN, BSC (Hons), MA Practice Education, FHEA

Tendai Gwenhure trained as an ophthalmic nurse at Moorfields Eye Hospital in 2001. Prior to this, she worked abroad as a nurse manager at a private eye center.

In addition to managing staff and overseeing the clinical and surgical activities, she was also involved in charity work, collaborating with local and international charity organisations to run rural eye camp programmes to underserved communities. Upon completion of the ophthalmic course, Tendai worked in the Ophthalmic Accident and Emergency department, starting off as a D grade staff nurse, then progressing to become an ophthalmic emergency nurse practitioner and an A&E sister in 2005.

Within this role, she was actively involved in the delivery departmental teaching sessions and staff training.

Because of her passion for staff education and training, Tendai moved into the Clinical Educator role at Moorfields Eye Hospital in 2014.  With the introduction of the PGCert in Clinical Ophthalmic Practice programme at UCL Institute of Ophthalmology in 2014, Tendai has been a faculty member and she is currently the programme lead. She holds an MA in Practice Education and is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. She is an advocate for lifelong learning and nursing research. Her research interests are mainly around workforce development and enhancing student learning experience. She has received nominations from UCL for Student Choice Award for Excellent Personal Tutoring and Inspiring Teaching and Delivery. In 2019, she won the Student Choice Award for best lecturer for the PGCert Ophthalmic Practice programme for 2014-2018.

Tendai has been involved in Nurse Practitioner and GP training programmes for managing eye conditions.   She has also been involved in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering Arts and Maths) projects and youth employment schemes with local schools to promote careers in healthcare. She has presented at several conferences both nationally and internationally and has had multiple journal publications. As part of her master’s programme, she has conducted a research project to evaluate a local induction course and she is currently undertaking her DProf.

Tendai has global networks, working with charities including Abalon Trust, Eye Health Africa and Global Health Lecturers’ Network to promote eye health and support ophthalmic education in marginalised communities. She is also a member of the World Association of Eye Hospital (WAEH) communities of practice for nurses, sharing best clinical practice and best strategies for ophthalmic nurse training and education. Locally, Tendai is involved in community engagement activities focusing on the promotion of eye health and empowering nurses through education and training.

Alice

BSc (Hons), RGN, MSc (Completed 2023)

Trainee Advanced Clinical Practitioner in Vitreoretinal and Oculoplastics

Derriford Hospital, Plymouth

Alice has worked in ophthalmology for over 20 years starting as an HCA on a surgical ward.  Previously working in London (Satellite hospital) and moving to Plymouth to work in Derriford Hospital in 2019.

Alice’s primary interest is within Vitreoretinal and Oculoplastics where she works autonomously alongside the consultants within the outpatient department. Along with assisting consultants in theatres, Alice also performs minor lid surgery’s and is currently training to undertake more complex lid surgeries. Alice also trains the Junior Doctors to perform minor lid operations as well as overseeing the nurse practitioner’s training within the department.

Prior to Ophthalmology Alice has also worked as a District nurse and as a nurse consultant for a “live in” nursing company in the private sector, until returning back to Ophthalmology.

Emma Coleman

Emma is a First-Class Graduate with honours. Emma has worked within Ophthalmology in East Kent since February 2020. Emma began her Ophthalmology career as a Band 2 Technician and progressed to her current position of Band 4 Senior Ophthalmic Technician.

Emma understands the challenges Technicians face when trying to find courses to expand their knowledge and is passionate about making these easier to access for current and future Technicians. Emma has shared her Ophthalmic knowledge with other Technicians and is enthusiastic to continue to do so. Emma is excited for the launch of the Association of Ophthalmic Nurses and Technicians and the educational platform and Ophthalmic community this will provide. Emma is honoured to be the representative for Ophthalmic Technicians and to demonstrate their value within Ophthalmology.

Scott Jones

I am Kent Association for the Blinds’ (KAB) East Kent ECLO working within East Kent Hospitals. Age-related Macular Degeneration, Glaucoma and Diabetic Retinopathy are among the major causes of sight loss so I routinely attend those clinics where I feel the need is greatest.

I offer face-to-face practical and emotional support, information about living with sight loss and visual awareness training to staff. I also assist professional colleagues in the community if they need to refer someone who isn’t under the care of East Kent Hospitals but still need to access ECLO or KAB services.