The Lions Outback Vision Eye Hub in Broome, Australia, has officially opened, bringing permanent specialised eye health services to the town and outreach to 20 communities and five regional towns across Kimberley.
The Hub includes three resident Lions Outback Vision doctors, two resident optometrists, a full-service eye clinic with state-of-the-art diagnostic equipment, education and training spaces, a café and facilities for multi-disciplinary use by visiting specialists. Having opened in April 2021, the official launch marked the completion of the second phase of building works on the site, a former backpacker hostel donated to Lions Outback Vision by the Wen Giving Foundation and Hawaiian Group.
The McCusker director of Lions Outback Vision, Associate Professor Angus Turner, said approximately 11% of the North West Aboriginal lander population are vision impaired or blind and 35% of this population have never had an eye exam. The Hub enables patients to be treated closer to home, adding that the next goal was to develop a day surgery in the town to alleviate pressure on the Broome Hospital.
Professor Nitin Verma, president of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists (RANZCO), said the Hub is a model for others to follow and a blueprint for RANZCO as it brings its ‘Vision 2030 and beyond’ initiative to fruition.
