The president of the Association of British Dispensing Opticians (ABDO) made a special visit to Hereford this week to present BBR Optometry’s Emily Davies with a top award she should have received at her recent graduation ceremony.

Emily, a dispensing optician at the St Owen Street practice, received her 2:1 BSc (Hons) in Ophthalmic Dispensing at Canterbury Christ Church University in November alongside her FBDO.

But unbeknown to Emily, an administrative error meant an award for Best Presented Pre-Qualification Portfolio (PQP) was not presented to her on the day.

“I only found out several weeks after the graduation that I should have received the award. I couldn’t believe it, it’s such a privilege,” said Emily.

On Tuesday, Clive Marchant, president of the ABDO, made a personal visit to BBR Optometry to present the award in person.

“The PQP is a portfolio of case records that must be completed to achieve the FBDO qualification,” said Nick Rumney, chairman of BBR Optometry.

“The case records cover a range of criteria including paediatric dispensing and low vision. Due to a clerical error, Emily was not presented with her award when she attended her graduation so Clive’s personal visit marks ABDO’s recognition of the incredible amount of care and work Emily put into her PQP.”

Mr Marchant said he was pleased to be able to present the award in person. “Emily has worked extremely hard for her degree and FBDO and so to have missed out receiving it alongside her peers at the graduation ceremony meant we felt it should be presented in person. Emily can be very proud with her hard work in achieving this and we wish her well in her career.”

Photo: Clive Marchant, president of the ABDO with Emily Davies, dispensing optician at BBR Optometry