Montrose optometrist marks milestone in 25-year career
An optometrist who has dedicated almost 25 years to eye care is celebrating five years as a director at Specsavers Montrose after helping to transform access to treatment for the local community.
Fahriea Anis, known as Mimi, has worked at the Montrose store for almost seven years and recently marked five years as its ophthalmic director.
The milestone comes during a significant year in Mimi's career, with this summer also marking 17 years as an optometrist and 20 years as a dispensing optician.
Over the past five years, Mimi has helped to oversee major developments in the store's clinical offering, including two refits, the introduction of a dedicated emergency room and the development of two qualified independent prescribers within the team.
Together, these developments have helped the store to reduce acute hospital referrals by more than 90 per cent, allowing more customers to access the eye care they need locally.
Mimi said: “When I became a director at Montrose, one of my main aims was to establish accessible eye care for the local community and reduce the need for people to be referred into secondary care.
“Over the past five years, we've made significant developments to what we're able to offer, including our dedicated emergency room and having two qualified independent prescribers within the team.
“Combined, these changes have helped us reduce acute hospital referrals from the store by more than 90 per cent, which is something I'm incredibly proud of.”
Mimi's commitment to improving access to eye care also extends thousands of miles beyond Montrose.
She has undertaken three trips to The Gambia, using her clinical expertise to provide eye care and treatment to people in remote communities.
Mimi is now working on a project to establish a long-term community eye care hub in Banjul, the country's capital, with the ambition of improving access to eye care in the area.
She added: “When I first started with Specsavers at 17, I don't think I could have imagined where my career would take me. Reaching five years as a director is a lovely opportunity to reflect on what we've achieved as a team, particularly the improvements to ensure more people can receive the care they need locally.”