The Australian College of Optometry (ACO), and the Victorian Aboriginal Health Service (VAHS) are celebrating 25 years of dedicated optometry services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
The embedded optometry clinic at VAHS’ Fitzroy site in Melbourne aims to remove barriers to eyecare experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in mainstream services, which systematically fail them and drive health disparities, according to a statement by the organisations.
The joint VAHS ACO clinic was launched in 1998, when blindness was reported as 10 times more prevalent among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples than in other Australians.1 Most of the vision loss and blindness was caused by diabetic retinopathy, which disproportionately affects Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, and can be prevented with regular screening and timely access to treatment.
Following recommendations by the National Aboriginal Health Strategy, the ACO and VAHS sought to improve community eye health outcomes through community control and participation in service delivery.
Today, the VAHS ACO optometry clinic works to deliver culturally safe care with sessions running twice a week. Ms Nilmini John, ACO manager of Aboriginal Services, leads the team of four optometrists who service the embedded clinic. In this role, John works closely with the VAHS team to ensure community eye health needs are met.
“As health practitioners, we’re accustomed to telling patients what they should do but when working with First Nations clients, it’s important to ensure patients feel they are ultimately making decisions for themselves,” John said.
“We need to provide our patients with as much information, avoiding jargon, so they can make informed decisions regarding their health. This is self-determination at its core.”
In 2018, the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital (Eye and Ear) began providing ophthalmology services, with regular clinics running fortnightly. This addition has ensured that community members can access a full suite of eye health services ranging from primary optometry to laser and injection treatment and post-operative check-ups.
Separately, VAHS Aboriginal health worker Ms Kelli McGuinness was appointed to the new role of Aboriginal Eye Health Worker (AEHW) in 2022 to support eye health service delivery. This role was created in consultation with ACO optometrists and Dr Rosie Dawkins from the Eye and Ear, funded by The Fred Hollows Foundation.
Mr Gavin Brown, VAHS COO, is passionate about the growth in eyecare services available to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
“VAHS is a recognised leader in the eye health space, and we also acknowledge the incredible work that ACCHOs are doing across Australia. There is a strong synergy by all those involved in improving the eye health in our communities as we continue to be committed to enabling the gift of sight,” Brown said.
In 2020, an annual update on the implementation of the Roadmap to Close the Gap for Vision reported that the rate of blindness among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults had halved nationally, but still stand at three times that of other people.2
The ACO said it was appreciative of the opportunity to work within community-controlled spaces, such as VAHS, to deliver effective care, with collaboration between healthcare providers and ACCHOs proving instrumental for meaningful impact on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health outcomes.
Dr Josephine Li, ACO general manager of Rural VES and Outreach Programs, said: “It is clear the best possible health outcomes are made possible with the leadership, teamwork, and guidance of community-controlled health services and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voices.
“This invaluable input from community is essential across all health services and policies throughout Australia to improve the wellbeing of our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.”
More reading
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AIHW report highlights progress and identifies gaps in Indigenous eye health service
2023 prediction: A/Prof Mitchell Anjou – Indigenous Eye Health, UniMelb
