Government announces $1 million budget in support of eye health and diabetes
The federal government has announced a $1 million dollar budget for Diabetes Australia to develop the Preserve Sight program.
Being implemented in partnership with Vision 2020 Australia, Oculo and many other eye health and diabetes sectors, this initiative aims to track eye health through a national electric eye health record. It also includes an alert system targeting National Diabetes Services Scheme members missing out on recommended eye checks.
To further strengthen the development of the initiative, Specsavers Australia also matched the $1 million donation for the cause.
This project is only one among many initiated by the government due to its commitment to promote awareness and early detection of Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. This includes:
- $125 million budget through the Medical Research Future Fund for research funding focused on diabetes and heart disease.
- $ 600,000 budget to increase awareness of the risks of type 2 diabetes
The government’s move was applauded by Optometry Australia CEO Lyn Brodie. She said, “We are pleased to be part of this program to protect the sight of Australians with diabetes and prevent their vision loss.
“This will drive more patients to optometrists and help to reduce the number of Australians developing diabetes-related eye diseases.
“Catching this disease early through regular comprehensive eye examinations, is critical as if left untreated, diabetic retinopathy can lead to blindness,” Ms Brodie said.
Diabetes Australia CEO Professor Greg Johnson said too many people with diabetes are needlessly putting themselves at risk of vision loss due to not having regular eye examinations.
“Diabetes is the leading cause of blindness in working age Australians. We are pleased the Australian Government and industry partners are supporting this important initiative. Other industry partners are expected to contribute funding, and ongoing government funding will be sought for a five-year program,” Professor Johnson said.
“There are around 600,000 Australians with diabetes who are missing out on the recommended eye checks that would enable early detection and early treatment to prevent blindness.”
Vision 2020 Australia CEO Judith Abbott said the program will be helpful in establishing a national system to support eye checks for all people with diabetes.
“This will benefit the 1.2 million Australians with diabetes who are registered with the National Diabetes Services Scheme, providing them with alerts and reminders to have eye checks and creating electronic records that include retinal photos to help coordinate their care.”
“The program will encourage people with diabetes to visit existing optometry services and specialist ophthalmic service providers for Medicare-funded eye checks and early interventions,” Ms Abbott said.
Celine Zhang, Publications Officer at Young Optometrists NSW/ACT says:
“It is fantastic to see an additional support system to promote awareness of eyecare for Australians with diabetes. Timely and effective eyecare is crucial to help prevent vision loss from diabetes-related complications. We are lucky to live in a country where all optometrists are able to provide diabetic eye examinations. With more diabetics being alerted when they are overdue for an eye assessment, this will hopefully reduce the physical, emotional, financial and economical burden of the disease. We hope that the media presented to the public is not skewed towards certain groups of optometrists; and instead, encourage Australians with diabetes to attend their local optometrist for regular eye health assessments.”
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Photo credit: Monkey Boson on Visualhunt / CC BY