Meet Our Team

Mr Gerard Ainsworth is a highly experienced consultant ophthalmic surgeon working within the NHS in North Cumbria, where he has worked as clinical director for the Ophthalmology department. His specialist interests include cataract and refractive surgery, as well as glaucoma.

Mr Ainsworth graduated from the University of Manchester in 1995 and began his ophthalmic training at Musgrove Park Hospital, Taunton before moving to the Royal Liverpool University Hospital and then Queens Medical Centre, Nottingham to further his surgical skills and undertake advanced subspecialist training in glaucoma. He completed his comprehensive specialist training with a fellowship in corneal surgery at the Sussex Eye Hospital, Brighton in 2006.

Ged is a fellow of the Royal College of Ophthalmologists and holds a postgraduate diploma in Cataract and Refractive Surgery. Twice a year he teaches trainee surgeons at the Royal College of Ophthalmologists and is a member of:

• United Kingdom and Ireland Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons
• European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons
• British Society of Refractive Surgeons

Outside work, Ged lives with his wife and two children in the beautiful Lake District. He is passionate about skiing and hits the slopes as much as he can, both in the Lakes (when the weather allows) and in Europe. Ged is a frustrated sailor at heart, and so enjoys watching his children sail on Ullswater. He and the family, along with Megan the dog, also love walking the fells and sampling any local hostelries that might happen to be en route!

A son of the manse, father of two, Mark was born in Paisley and has lived and worked throughout the UK and elsewhere in the world. His interest in Ophthalmology started as a student spending 2 months on elective at an 800 bed Eye hospital in India [Sitapur, Uttar Pradesh], and the interest was confirmed working in New Zealand, Bristol, Cheltenham and Newcastle. He completed his higher surgical training in the North East of England including Fellowship training in Oculoplastic and Lacrimal surgery [Brisbane, Australia,Dr Tim Sullivan].

Mark has worked as a Consultant Ophthalmologist in Dumfries for 23 years, as locum Consultant working at the Golden Jubilee National Hospital and with Vision Scotland Edinburgh. He also supports NHS Shetland undertaking bimonthly clinics, facilitating delivery of the Age Related Macular Degeneration service, glaucoma, general ophthalmology and minor operations clinics. He undertook clinics in a state of the art facility in Edinburgh and Aberdeen, undertaking cataract surgery, unilateral or bilateral, the majority under topical anaesthesia using a variety of monofocal and extended depth of focus lenses, most patients having the toric version to correct astigmatism. He also treated medical retina patients requiring Anti-VEGF injections

A founder member of the British Oculoplastic Surgical Society, he is a member of the United Kingdom Cataract and Refractive Surgeons Society and the European society, regularly attending meetings throughout his career to keep knowledge current.

He has been an early adopter of emerging ophthalmic technology, once of proven benefit and safety for patients, moving to phacoemulsification in 1992, topical anaesthesia in 2006 and that same year providing injections on the NHS for the treatment of wet macular degeneration which was a first in Scotland. He accepted a national award by the Macular Disease Society on behalf of the department for that work in 2010. He has treated his cataract patients with significant astigmatism using Toric lenses since 2013.

Feedback from patients and nursing colleagues report that Mark puts his patients at ease with clear explanations and the options for treatment in clinic, and is calm and reassuring to patients during their surgery. His audited cataract results show visual outcomes better than the national average and with a complication rate that is better despite a complex high risk case mix for the majority of his career.

He has known Lakeland Vision founder Ged Ainsworth for 20 years and shares his view that care should be individualised with continuity of care, patients seeing their Consultant at each visit. “I think the relationship between the patient and their surgeon is the best way to get good outcomes and consistent results. This is ‘built in’ at Lakeland Vision and the deciding factor in my moving there with the opportunity to work in a modern well equipped unit with an ethos that matches my own.”

His outside interests include kayaking, stand up paddle boarding, skiing, wild life photography, art and music, both live and on vinyl.

My name is Dee and I’m the Practice Manager here at Lakeland Vision.

I joined the team in late 2024 having spent most of my career working in the manufacturing industry both in Ireland and in Cumbria.

My background is in Operations Management and Continuous Improvement and although ophthalmology is new to me, a lot of the systems and processes for running a successful business are the same.

I’m originally from Ireland and moved to the UK in 2010 along with my husband and we have called Cockermouth home since then. We also have a young son and love to spend our free time out walking in the fells and travelling whenever possible.

Coming soon

My name is Antony, I’m Lakeland Vision’s Theatre Manager. I’m a Registered general nurse specialising as a scrub nurse in theatres.

I trained in Chester in 1991 and moved to the area once qualified and commenced my career journey as a scrub nurse in the operating theatres at the Cumberland Infirmary.

I progressed within my career with an interest in orthopaedics and have managed theatre departments at the West Cumberland Hospital in Whitehaven and the Westmorland General Hospital in Kendal.

In 2024 I took the plunge and left the NHS to join the team at Lakeland Vision, bringing my 30 years wealth of operating theatre knowledge and experience with me.

I reside in the lovely market town of Cockermouth with my partner Angela and her two children, my own creative children are studying at Brighton (Film Media) and Newcastle university (Fabric Design).

Outside of work I enjoy the beautiful countryside we have on our doorstep, so can often be found kayaking on our local rivers, mountain biking on the local trails or walking on the fells with my partner and our mad cocker spaniel dog.

Coming soon