Centre for Eye Health

Centre for Eye Health (CFEH) aims to reduce the incidence of preventable vision loss by providing our community with access to advanced diagnostic services and ensuring the early identification of eye disease. It is an an initiative of Guide Dogs NSW/ACT and The University of New South Wales. Our core services 1. Advanced imaging and diagnostics service for early detection of eye disease. 2. To provide expert clinical recommendations and advice on eye imaging and visual system diagnosis. Where appropriate, Centre for Eye Health optometrists consult with ophthalmologists from South Eastern Sydney Local Health District for interpretation of test results and to determine suitable management of clients. 3. Provision of optometric education and awareness on eye disease. We have saved the lives of some patients and prevented vision loss in many others, through early detection of serious eye disease. The Centre has also kept 25,000 people out of public hospital waiting lists and acted as a triage service for public hospital Ophthalmologists, identifying those cases that need urgent attention. This is an important cause – the number of Australians who are blind is now nearly 70,000 and predicted to rise to over 100,000 by 2020. A 2009 Access Economics report found that vision impairment costs Australia $16.6 bill per year and that for every $1 invested in prevention of avoidable blindness, $5 can be saved. Of the people the Centre for Eye Health has tested over the last 3 years: • Approximately 15% have been found to have eye disease and required active medical or surgical attention, • About 70% have been identified as ‘high risk’ of eye disease and require monitoring, • Several cases of life-threatening ocular tumours have been discovered.