Early-career optometrist Thomas Ford has carved a path from rural practice to partnership with George & Matilda Eyecare, blending clinical excellence, community innovation and leadership, while fast becoming a key thought leader within the industry.
When Thomas Ford officially stepped into partnership at George & Matilda Eyecare’s practice in Griffith, a regional city in the northern Riverina region of western New South Wales, in July 2025, the move from clinician to business partner was an undisputed career milestone. But above all, it was a vote of confidence in his performance and leadership potential.
Ford had been at the practice for just 18 months when he was approached to consider elevating into a partnership position. Only four years post-graduation, the opportunity was as unexpected as it was welcome. His early career had already spanned private ophthalmology, work with Myopia Profile alongside Dr Kate Gifford, locum roles across rural and metro settings, and involvement with Optometry Australia – experiences that gave him a diverse and agile view of clinical care.
Today, he practices alongside a four-person team: including a practice manager, dispenser and graduate optometrist, offering full-scope optometry to the Griffith community, which is home to around 35,000 people.
Leaning into his passion for ocular pathology and therapeutics, Ford is relishing the complexity of clinical decision-making in a town without full-time ophthalmology services.
“We have a visiting ophthalmologist attend once per month, with a public waitlist of over 24 months to gain an initial appointment,” he explains. “Otherwise, patients have to travel to Wagga, two hours away, Albury three hours, or Sydney six.”
This geographical reality fuels his commitment to practising at the fullest extent of current optometric scope – and advocating for what an optometrists’ scope should become. It’s a theme that threads throughout his work, particularly in paediatric vision, therapeutics and advanced clinical care.
Championing children’s vision
One of Ford’s biggest contributions in 2025 emerged from a concern echoed across the profession: the number of school-aged children with undiagnosed vision problems.
He was inspired by Optometry Australia research which found that almost half of Australian children had not received an eye test by age 9.
“We know that 1 in 5 Australian children have an undetected vision problem, that vision is responsible for 80% of a child’s learning, and that by the year 2050 half of all children will be myopic. This prompted us to act” he said.
In New South Wales, the StEPS (Statewide Eyesight Preschooler Screening) program screens children in kindergarten or preschool, but no statewide follow-up exists for older cohorts.
Sensing a gap with real consequences for learning outcomes, Ford and his team initiated a free, voluntary vision screening project at a local public primary school. Conducted over two days in August 2025, the program assessed 90 children whose families had provided consent. The results were stark: two-thirds of participating students had an undetected vision issue requiring follow-up care.
Families received summaries of results and recommendations to visit their preferred local optometrist if problems were detected – “we encouraged the agency of parents and their children, allowing genuine choice in selecting a preferred eyecare provider”, he notes, reflecting the program’s community-first ethos.
The effort quickly translated into increased visits from concerned parents and children, with Ford describing paediatric eye care as the future of both the practice and of the industry more broadly. “Our practice is fast gaining a reputation for excellence in paediatric vision and eye health” he says. “We’re working hard to safeguard the vision of future generations, one child at a time.”
The initiative drew attention beyond the school gates. In October 2025, the school principal nominated the team for the Murrumbidgee Primary Healthcare Awards, where they were crowned winners in the Innovation category. It’s recognition Ford describes as humbling and gratifying, but secondary to the project’s impact.
“It’s so rewarding to be regarded as a trusted advisor to children and their parents,” he says, “we’re fortunate to be able to play our part in ensuring good eye care for life while setting children up for success.”
The G&M Griffith practice now plans to continue vision screenings annually, finishing coverage of the original school’s student body before expanding to a new local primary school each year. Ford expects similar findings elsewhere and sees the initiative as a crucial step towards long-term community eye health.
“Breaking down barriers, doing things differently, and having a hyper-local approach to community eyecare is at the heart of what we do.”
Fellowship, mentorship and advocacy
Even as his community work gained recognition, Ford simultaneously achieved one of optometry’s highest international professional honours: Fellowship of the American Academy of Optometry (FAAO).
To qualify, he spent 18-24 months preparing extensive case reports, often complex cases seen in rural practice detailing presentation, pathophysiology, clinical reasoning and treatment. He then travelled to Boston in October 2025 to sit an oral examination before being awarded fellowship at the academy’s conference, attended by around 8,000 optometrists from across the world.
For Ford, the fellowship reflects a commitment to excellence and innovation in eyecare. It also fuels his passion for mentoring early-career optometrists. Over the past year, he has supervised placement students from Deakin University and Flinders University, valuing the reciprocal learning and the fresh perspectives students bring to complex clinical scenarios.
Mentorship, he notes, is often missing in the profession, which is why he values the guidance he now receives from his G&M Professional Services Manager, a relationship he describes as his first true mentorship experience.
“I’m privileged to have such amazing support provided by trusted mentors who help me to continue growing.”
In November 2025, Ford expanded his leadership further, accepting an appointment to the board of Optometry NSW/ACT. With a strong commitment to ensure a modern, agile and member-focussed organisation, he intends to better engage early career optometrists to secure the organisations future as a vital professional body.
Looking ahead, he is committed to advocating for oral therapeutics to be added to the Australian optometry scope of practice. In regions like Griffith, where public ophthalmology waits can stretch to two years and GP appointments can take weeks, the ability for optometrists to prescribe oral medications would significantly reduce treatment delays. He hopes to see progress toward implementation by late 2027.
“It will make a huge difference to our patient’s visual prognosis and quality of life,” he says, “while reducing service duplication and ensuring greater efficiency of our overburdened healthcare system.”
Technology, team growth and a clear vision
With momentum building across clinical practice, community health, advocacy and education, Ford is already planning for 2026 and beyond. The Griffith practice welcomed a graduate optometrist, Isabel Salvestro, in August, and he is enthusiastic about supporting her continued development in line with the practice’s values.
This year will also bring new clinical capabilities, with the delivery of an Optos ultra-widefield device: the first in Griffith. It’s expected to enhance retinal care across the region, enabling earlier detection, more accurate triage and more effective co-management with other providers. Not all patients with retinal concerns will need to make lengthy trips to ophthalmology services; others may be referred sooner and more appropriately.
“We’ll have the opportunity to better support other practices, ophthalmologists, GPs and patients with retinal concerns,” he notes. “It’ll be great for the practice and for the community alike.”
With plans for expanded paediatric vision programs and an ongoing appetite for innovation, Ford is optimistic about the coming year both professionally and clinically.
“It’s all about mindset; the desire, the drive to do things differently, while helping those in our local community.”
“One of the things I value most is how supportive George & Matilda Eyecare have been. Their backing gives me the freedom to drive these initiatives beyond day-to-day consulting and to continue elevating the standard of eyecare.”
