LOCSU Says Farewell to Advancement Leads, Bobby Fida and Alvaro Borges
24 July 2024
The LOCSU team are sad to say farewell to two of our advancement leads at the end of July – Bobby Sarvat Fida and Alvaro Borges.
Bobby and Alvaro both joined the team in 2021 as optical leads, positions now known as advancement leads.
In her time at LOCSU, Bobby provided focused support to LOCs in the North East and Yorkshire, assisted in the development of LOCSU strategy and clinical pathway development work and provided recommendations on how to improve LOCSU resources and business planning. Bobby also supported and promoted deaf awareness training amongst LOCs in Yorkshire, contributing to a case study on improving communication and accessibility to Leeds LOC’s deaf community. Her work also saw LOCs in North East and Yorkshire benefitting from Health Education England funding to gain WOPEC skills and hosting collaborative learning and training events across the region.
Bobby has had a huge influence in supporting team members to champion themselves and each other. The team at LOCSU will continue to be encouraged to “be more Bobby” and channel her positivity even after she leaves – particularly during the five minute celebration that she introduced at LOCSU team meetings.
Janice Foster, LOCSU CEO, said: “Bobby has made tremendous contributions with positive impact for LOCs and across the LOCSU team in the last three years. She’ll be incredibly missed. She achieved a lot in her time at LOCSU, particularly in her work in promoting deaf awareness and her commitment to providing the best possible support to LOCs. I’d like to say a huge thank you to Bobby for everything she’s done and wish her all the best for the future.”
During his time at LOCSU, Alvaro has provided comprehensive support to LOCs in the South East and South West, facilitating collaboration at a local, system, regional and national level. He played a crucial role in service development discussions and negotiations with commissioners, particularly in regard to enhanced optical services deliverable in primary care.
Alvaro supported the development of LOCs with their local needs analysis and LOC strategy days, providing support and improved, easier to use tools for the future. He also ran a number of workshops and training events, including the health inequalities workshop at the NOC23, and, more recently, the time management bitesize training session with Simone Mason, LOCSU’s Digital Learning and Support Officer.
Janice Foster said: “Alvaro has been an incredibly valued member of the LOCSU team who always puts LOCs and the support we can offer at the forefront of everything he does. His work in supporting LOCs with their local needs assessment and LOC strategy days has been particularly notable over the last three years. On behalf of the whole team, and I’m sure many LOCs, I’d like to thank Alvaro for all his hard work – he will be missed.”
We wish both Alvaro and Bobby all the best for the future and would like to say a huge thank you to them both for all of their hard work and enormous contributions over the last three years.