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about us
Daryl Parkes (Director-Optometrist)
- Bachelor Of Optometry (Auckland 1994)
- Authorised Medicine Prescriber (2010)
- Glaucoma Medicine Prescriber (2017)
A graduate of the University of Auckland in 1994, Daryl is the principal optometrist at Southland Eyecare. After graduation he worked in varied situations for other optometrists, dispensing opticians, surgeons and hospitals, before starting Fiordland Eyecare in Te Anau in 2006. He completed his medicine training for the treatment of common eye infections and inflammation in 2010, and further training with Dr Nic Johnston in Invercargill for the use of medicines to treat glaucoma. More recently he has become the Irlen Diagnostician for Southland, taking the baton from Clayton Riley.
Daryl is a strong advocate of primary health care, and health systems that aim toward clinical efficiency and equitable access. His main lobbying in Southland over the years has been in regard to children’s vision, diabetic retinopathy, and cataract prioritization. He is a member of the NZ Association of Optometrists, and has been a trustee for the Fiordland Health Trust since 2008.
Outside of work his main interests are all aspects of sailing at the Bluff Yacht Club (racing, cruising, coaching), travel and tramping, and any reading of history of anything.
Pirjo Saastamoinen-Parkes (Director)
- Diploma of Nursing (Finland – 1998)
- Certificate in Aromatheraphy (2003)
- Registered Nurse – Medical Ward Southland Hospital 2007-17
Pirjo came to NZ from Finland initially as a Rotary Exchange Student in 1991-2. After returning to Finland and completing high-school, she then studied English-enhanced Comprehensive Nursing, graduating in 1997. After meeting Daryl later that year, she returned to NZ in 1999 and started her nursing career in Christchurch. In 2003, she studied Aromatherapy fulltime for a year, and subsequently both nursed and did therapeutic massage in Queenstown 2005-7. From 2007-17 she was a senior nurse on the Medical Ward at Southland Hospital.
She joined the Southland Eyecare team in 2017 bringing a strong attention to detail in business and a nursing ethics background regarding the care of our patients.
Outside of work she enjoys walking with her dog, cooking, tramping, and sailing when the weather’s nice.
