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Centre for Eye Health (CFEH) celebrates a year since seeing its first client on 30 November, and is on track to reach 3000 referrals by year-end. A joint initiative of Guide Dogs NSW/ACT and the University of New South Wales, the Centre is a community initiative aimed at reducing preventable blindness through early detection.

During its first year, more than 750 eye-care practitioners across NSW and the ACT have registered to use the Centre and more than 2000 people have been tested and triaged to help reduce hospital waiting lists. The majority of clients are socio-economically disadvantaged and at-risk of eye disease because of age, family history, health or lifestyle factors, or are suspected of having an eye disease and require further investigation. Some simply need ongoing monitoring of a known condition.

“Considering that the Centre was still a construction site in June 2009, the high volume of practitioner registrations, and growth in patient referrals, is a huge achievement” says Director Professor Michael Kalloniatis. “What we are most proud of though, is the tangible impact we have already seen for the people referred to CFEH.  When you realise that most of these people wouldn’t otherwise have had the necessary advanced imaging and assessment, for financial or other reasons, we know we are making a difference”.

The case of Anna is a good example of the Centre’s contribution to triaging patients for the eye-care profession. She was referred by her local optometrist for photo documentation and measurement of what appeared to be a small naevus on her retina. Assessment at CFEH can identify whether such lesions are simply small naevi requiring ongoing monitoring, or fall within a ‘suspicious’ category of uveal melanoma requiring referral to a retinal specialist. 

“Based on US studies, we can predict that in Sydney alone the incidence of uveal melanoma occurs in approximately 20 people per year. Photo documentation and quantification of the size of pigmented lesions is required to identify those that require further assessment by retinal specialists.  Early detection is critical as uveal melanoma size directly determines survival rates. In Anna’s case, analysis by a team of senior optometrists and consultant ophthalmologists at CFEH confirmed that it was an innocuous naevus requiring ongoing monitoring. However, in other cases we have made a provisional diagnosis of choroidal melanoma and the patient has been referred to a retinal specialist,” says Prof. Kalloniatis.

The free service is designed to help ensure the public health system and specialists are available for patients with more urgent conditions. CFEH can perform tests and assessments for thousands of people each year, providing eye-care practitioners with additional and timely information to determine if and when further action is required.

The Centre’s sophisticated imaging equipment is already seen by many eye-care professionals as an extension of their own practice, and they benefit from not needing to acquire and maintain expensive and rarely used equipment. In fact, a number of referring optometrists and ophthalmologists have each referred more than 100 patients this year for specific tests, including OCT imaging.

As a new initiative and service offering within the ophthalmic sector, CFEH acknowledges that it will take some time for eye-care practitioners to fully know when and who to refer and make best use of the Centre. 

“A year on, we are finding that there is still some confusion about the role of CFEH.  We see ourselves as part of an integrated team, and our contribution is helping with early detection, triaging patients and improving access to advanced ocular imaging and assessment to those who most need it,” says Prof. Kalloniatis.

He went on to say “We are committed to working with the eye health sector to ensure this community investment is effective in reducing preventable vision loss.  To achieve this we understand that we need to be open to feedback and continually evolve, and we invite all stakeholders to let us know how we can best work together”.