Greater Manchester East LOC Committee

Matthew Jinkinson (Contractor, Stockport) - Chair - Send Mail

Matthew is an optometrist working in his family-run independent practice in Bramhall. He has been a LOC member with Stockport LOC since 2008 and was Chair from 2015. He was elected as the chair of GM East LOC at its formation in 2018. Matthew is also a member of OPB (Optometry Provider Board), and PC Provider Board and the Local Eye Health Network (LEHN) chair. He is also the Chief Clinical Officer for Referral Management Services (RMS) who provide the IT platform OPERA for referrals and enhanced optical services in the North West.

Wendy Craven (Contractor, HMR&B) - Vice-Chair - Send Mail

Wendy Craven is an optometrist and director of Craven & Murray Opticians in Rochdale. She previously chaired Heywood, Middleton, Rochdale & Bury LOC and is now the Vice Chair of Greater Manchester East LOC. She is also Clinical Director for Primary Eyecare Services. In her spare time Wendy enjoys keeping active and playing Netball.

John Bowers (Contractor, West Pennine) - Treasurer - Send Mail

John Bowers was the Treasurer of West Pennine LOC for a number of years before accepting the post of Treasurer for GM East LOC. He is a dispensing optician with his own independent practice, Muldoon & Tonge, in Ashton-under-Lyne. He has been in optics for over thirty years.

Andrea Kay (Contractor, Stockport) - Secretary - Send Mail

Andrea is an optometrist and owns her practice in central Stockport. She has previously worked with the AOP, counselling members who are in difficulty with the GOC and she also has experience with teaching student clinics at the University of Manchester. She holds the Professional Certificate In Glaucoma and sees a variety of Patients with Learning Disabilities. Previously she was secretary for Stockport LOC, and her second LOC role is that she is the Primary Eyecare Services Liaison Officer for the LOC. In her spare time she’s an active mum of twins and very skilled with a sewing machine.

Dharmesh Patel (Contractor, Stockport)

Dharmesh is an optometrist and the Director at Dixon Optometrists in Stockport. He has been involved with the local optical committee since 2009. In Greater Manchester he has experience being on the GM Primary Care provider board (previously acting as chair) and he also sits on the GM integrated care partnership board on behalf of the optical profession. Dharmesh is Chief Executive of Primary Eyecare Services – the lead provider company set up by the local optical committees to act as the federation for optical practices.

Rebecca Ireland (Performer, Stockport)

Education Lead and Locality Lead for Stockport- Send Mail

Rebecca works as an Optometrist in Specsavers Stockport and holds the Professional Certificate in Glaucoma. She joined Stockport LOC in 2015 and now represents the Stockport locality in GM East’s LOC. She arranges CPD events for GM practitioners and provides GM’s WOPEC course codes. She is Primary Eyecare Services’ Clinical Lead for Greater Manchester alongside Sarah. Her clinical interests are Enhanced Optical Services, practitioner education and ocular pathology. In her spare time, she can be found playing badminton, axe throwing, drawing and playing video games.

Nick Addy (Performer, West Pennine)

Locality Lead for Oldham- Send Mail

Nick has been registered as an Optometrist since 1995 and has worked in independent practice as well as for a multiple. Currently he is practicing at Vision Express in Oldham where he has been for 20 years. He was on the West Pennine LOC for several years before transferring onto the new GM East LOC. His special interests include keratoconus and his Caterham.

Krupal Sheth (Performer, HMR&B)

Locality Lead for HMR- Send Mail

Krupal graduated in 2001 from Bradford university. Since then he has worked in many facets of optometry including many independent & multiple practices. He is an Independent prescriber and is GERS accredited. He has been director of Specsavers Middleton and Heaton Park for 10 years. He first joined the LOC in 2016. In his spare time (if he ever has any) he practices ju-jitsu

Amarjit Singh (Performer, Stockport)

Locality Lead for Tameside- Send Mail

Amarjit has been qualified for over 10 years as an Optometrist with special interests in Glaucoma and EOS. He currently works for a small chain of independent opticians, Valli Opticians – predominantly in the Cheadle Hulme practice. He has worked as an Optometry Clinical Tutor at The University of Manchester in the final year Contact Lens clinics since Sept 2016. Outside of work, he enjoys playing football and going to the gym.

Toni Blanchon (Performer, HMR&B)

Locality Lead for Bury - Send Mail

Toni has been a qualified optometrist for over 30 years. She has worked most of them at Boots Opticians in Bury, where she has trained a plethora of Pre-registration optometrists. She is the LOC liaison for Bury practitioners on GM East LOC. She has recently started to play golf and is working on getting a handicap so she can retire and play on the Ladies Senior Tour.

Andrew Clemitson (Performer, Stockport)

Andrew has been a member of the LOC since 2018. He graduated from Cardiff University and qualified in 2004 and has a wealth of experience delivering sight tests and enhanced optical services in both Wales and England. He practices at Specsavers Stockport following his move from Wales in 2017. In his spare time Andrew is experienced in computer systems and enjoys playing video games, watching TV series and curing his own salmon.

Sarah Lowry (Locum Practitioner, Greater Manchester)

Sarah has been a part of GM East LOC since 2020. She has owned independent practices in both Poynton and Bramhall and has a wealth of experience. Her special interests are Low Vision, examining Patients with Learning Disabilities and Enhanced Optical Services. She is an Independent Prescriber and holds the Professional Certificate in Glaucoma. She also works for Primary Eyecare Services along Rebecca as a Clinical Lead for Greater Manchester. In her spare time she loves to travel and go scuba diving.

Chloe Lloyd Chapman (Telemedicine Optometrist, Greater Manchester)

Chloe is an Optometrist with 14 years previous experience within a primary care setting. More recently, she has moved out of practice and is now the Lead Optometrist for the CUES (Community Urgent Eyecare Service) telemedicine service with Primary Eyecare Services across certain parts of England. Chloe leads a team of over 30 optometrists to deliver telemedicine consultations, enabling people to access urgent assessment, treatment or referral for sudden onset eye problems.