Diabetic Retinopathy Screening

Diabetic Eye Screening is a key part of Diabetes eye health care

Diabetic Retinopathy is a complication of diabetes that damages blood vessels inside the retina at the back of the eye which can lead to irreversible eye damage and blindness if not treated.

In people with diabetes, tiny blood vessels in the retina may become diseased and damaged. This process is called diabetic retinopathy. It usually affects the retina slowly, over months or years.

The longer a person has diabetes, the greater the risk of diabetic retinopathy. All people with diabetes are at risk, whether or not they are insulin dependent.

Funding to support Diabetic Retinopathy screening is courtesy of Fred Hollows Foundation and The Eye Surgeon’s Foundation.

Diabetic Retinopathy Screening

Outback Vision supports primary health care services to embed Diabetic Retinopathy into core business:

Providing value add to existing screening services through education and grading;

Integrating retinal screening and grading into service delivery models;

Providing support services to primary health care services implementing or delivering a retinal screening services.

Having active diabetic eye screening to detect and monitor diabetic eye changes in regional Western Australia is important given that diabetes is the third most common cause of visual impairment in Indigenous Australians.

For information on schedules or bookings contact Lions Outback Vision info@outbackvision.com.au or 08 9381 0802 or contact your regional health clinic.

VISION VAN The Lions Outback Vision Van is a specialist mobile eye health clinic which will visit 19 communities twice each year supporting West Australians living in regional and remote communities to access specialist eye health services and treatment.

VISITING OPTOMETRIST Visiting Optometrists reach 30 different locations in areas of identified need, improving the coordination and integration of eye health services and the quality of ongoing patient care.

OUTREACH CLINICSCoordinated visits by ophthalmologists to regional hospitals to support specialist eye health procedures and surgeries in each region to advantage patient access to clinical assessment, review and follow up.

DIABETIC RETINOPATHY SCREENINGDiabetic eye screening is a key part of diabetes care. People with diabetes area at risk of damage from diabetic retinopathy, a condition that can lead to sight loss if it is not treated.