Optometry Scotland (OS), the optical profession’s membership body, has appointed three new independent representatives to drive membership engagement across the country.
Johnathan Waugh, Ian Rough and Jonathan Jennett have joined the OS board following a vote by independent members at the organisation’s annual general meeting.
They will serve as regional points of contact for independent optical practice owners in the North, West and South/East areas, while contributing to the strategic direction and governance of the organisation.
Each representative has a regional remit to build on member relationships and encourage positive engagement with practice owners and their teams. Members within each region will benefit from close links to their independent representative who will champion causes unique to the independent sector or to the area they represent.
Throughout their two-year term, the three will regularly meet with existing and prospective members to discuss any concerns or opportunities for growth and sharing of knowledge.
Johnathan Waugh, who is director at Kirk Road Eye Care in Houston, will represent the West of Scotland. Johnathan qualified as a licensed independent prescribing (IP) optometrist from Glasgow Caledonian University in 2000, and holds professional certificates in paediatric eyecare, medical retina and low vision.
He previously served on the Association of Optometrists Council and The College of Optometrists Council.
Representing the North of the country is Ian Rough, clinical and managing director of R Doig Optometrists based in Stornoway. After qualifying in 2001 from Glasgow Caledonian University, Ian achieved his IP qualification in 2012. As part of his commitment to delivering a universal standard of healthcare across rural and remote areas, he also works as a glaucoma optometrist at the Western Isles hospital once a month.
Jonathan Jennett will take on the East and South regions. Working as director of ClearVue Opticians in Edinburgh since 2018, he has more than two decades of experience in optics, previously working as a locum. He sits on the Lothian Area Optical Committee and has completed postgraduate qualifications in paediatric eyecare, glaucoma and medical retina.
Eilidh Thomson, chair of Optometry Scotland said: “I am pleased to welcome our new independent representatives to the Optometry Scotland board.
“I would also like to take this opportunity to share a heartfelt thanks to our previous reps Richard, Colette, Ian and Arthur, who so eagerly established the regional independent representative role and demonstrated unwavering commitment to supporting their regions over the past two years.
“By providing a point of contact for our independent members, we hope to demonstrate that we’re ready to listen to problems that may uniquely affect them. As a representative body, it’s of utmost importance that we can accurately represent and campaign on behalf of our members, and I have no doubt that Johnathan, Ian and Jonathan will better enable us to do that crucial work.”
Optometry Scotland represents almost 400 optometry practices across the country and has a proven track record of successfully advocating at government level for optical professions. For more information, visit: https://www.optometryscotland.org.uk/.
