MEDICUS FEBRUARY 2016

O N T H E R O A D

There is still plenty of work to be done for remote eye healthcare inWA, as Dr Jehan De Soyza finds out

I n November 2015, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to join Associate Professor Angus Turner of the Lions Eye Institute (LEI) and the Lions Outback Vision team on their outreach trip to Port Hedland, Roebourne and Karratha. About 6.8 per cent of the Western Australian population resides in remote or very remote areas.¹ These populations typically face greater obstacles in accessing specialist health services such as eye care. Lions Outback Vision was established in 2010 with the goal to make eye health services more accessible to the people of WA, irrespective of where they live. Outback Vision currently provides specialist eye healthcare throughout the Pilbara, Kimberley, Goldfields, Midwest, South-West and Great Southern regions. I meet Dr Turner, who insists on being called Angus, at the airport. His casual manner, shorts and polo shirt belie the enormous work he has done to grow a statewide eye health network. The team arrives in tow. Ophthalmology scrub nurse Cheryl Doran has been involved with eye care in WA for 30 years. Cheryl is based in Perth, joining the team for Pilbara trips.

Worth it: A/Prof Angus Turner with 67-year-old Jimmy Williams who travelled from the remote community of Parnngurr to remove a dense cataract from his right eye.

Angus explains that experienced support staff are paramount in providing a specialised clinical service. This includes staff in Perth as well as at various locations throughout the State. Optometrist, Stephen Copeland, is originally from Yeppoon in Queensland. Stephen’s love of outback Australia and desire to give back to the nation’s smaller and marginalised communities brought him west to work as Outback Vision’s Resident Optometrist in 2014. Outback Vision Fellow, Dr Chathri Amaratunge and Resident, Dr Kitty Shakur, are also on this trip. They put me at ease immediately, explaining that my lack of Ophthalmology experience will be no impediment to being useful, as the Pilbara will be

extremely busy.

At Port Hedland we are met by Alex Ramirez, who coordinates Outback Vision’s screening for the region. Over the course of the week, I learn that it is Alex’s enormous logistical efforts prior to the team’s arrival that facilitate the smooth function of our work whilst we are in town. Alex clearly loves the Pilbara and the people who live there and shares his enthusiasm and ideas for the growth of the Outback Vision program. We spend the evening getting organised for an early start. “Angus’s mob” is coming to Hedland Health Campus, and the three-month interval since the last visit means there’s a long list of patients to be seen.

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