Mr. Richard Manns

I have been working as an optometrist across southern England and Wales since 1975.

I opened my first practice in 1984, and eventually owned, with my wife, 6 practices. As such I dealt with many queries about optometry and ophthalmology. We sold the last practices in 2016, and since then I have worked as a locum, mainly as holiday and sickness cover for friends. I have been an member of the Optical Consumer Complaints Service, a member of the Association of Optical practitioners’ council, and have been a member and sometime chair of the Local Optical Committee.

I thus have dealt with refraction, glaucoma, cataracts, retinal detachments, tumours of the eye, squints, orthoptics and trauma in patients in all age groups from paediatric to geriatric.

During the last few years I have studied how optometry is performed in China, India, Vietnam, Peru, Sri Lanka and Japan. I have done some charity work in an orphanage in Darjeeling, India, and at present am engaged in training Optical Clinical Officers in Uganda so that they can refract.

As a high street optometrist, I believe that I can comment on the expected practice by a high street optometrist more accurately than an ophthalmologist or a hospital optometrist.

Excellence in report writing with Bond Solon in June 2022