Cargills Ashford

Mr Bendre Dalton BSc (Hons) MCOptom FBDO

Bendre Dalton qualified as a Dispensing Optician in South Africa in 1998. He moved to the UK in 2000 and worked as a Dispensing Optician until 2008 when he returned to university to study Optometry. Bendre successfully completed his studies with a First Class Honours degree and since qualifying has worked in Jersey Channel Islands and more recently in East Kent. While in Jersey Bendre carried out specialised contact lens fitting to post corneal graft and keratoconic patients and performed regular coloured overlay assessment. Bendre is particularly interested in myopia control in children, binocular vision anomalies and dry eye management. In his free time he enjoys cycling and dinghy sailing.

Dr (Mrs) Cathy Smith BSc (Hons) O.D. MCOptom

Cathy Smith graduated from the University in Waterloo, Canada in 1992 with a Doctor of Optometry degree. She practiced in Windsor, Ontario for 9 years and was involved in the full spectrum of Optometry, from laser refractive surgery pre and post op, contact lens care, foreign body removals, comprehensive eye examinations for all ages, etc. She particularly enjoys examining children, contact lenses and eye health. She was involved in screening events for children in Windsor and charity eye screening in Haiti and Nigeria. She enjoys updating her skills and desires to provide the best possible care for all her patients. She moved to England in 2001, started practicing with Cargills in 2002 and is married with 2 boys.

Mr Richard Flynn BSc (Hons) MCOptom

Richard Flynn began working in optics in 2003 and qualified as a dispensing optician in 2008 after working for a year in Moorfields Eye Hospital in London. Richard then undertook an honours degree in optometry at the University of Ulster in Northern Ireland. Having graduated in 2011 he completed his pre-registration year in Maidstone. Richard then returned to the Hospital Eye Service at Canterbury where he currently works three days a week. His specialist interests include paediatric refraction, medical retina, contact lenses and glaucoma in which he has a professional certificate. In 2016, Richard began to work part time at Cargills and hopes to begin training to become an independent prescriber. In his spare time, Richard enjoys playing the trombone and running – but not at the same time!