Passionate ophthalmologist and nurse specialist supporters of Macular Degeneration New Zealand (MDNZ) met in July to contribute to the government’s long-overdue action to better tackle macular degeneration care in New Zealand.
Following the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists’ (RANZCO’s) campaign to highlight the plight of many of the country’s MD patients, who were going blind while waiting for treatment, the government commissioned a Tier 3 (model-of-care) report in age-related macular degeneration (AMD) from consulting firm Ernst & Young (EY) at the beginning of this year.
MDNZ and many of its members have also worked tirelessly to get the government to act, commissioning its own report, “the socioeconomic cost of macular degeneration in New Zealand,” from Deloitte’s last year after becoming frustrated at the government’s lack of action and total absence of any funding to tackle the largest cause of visual impairment in Kiwis over 50 years old.
Hence the interest in July’s MDNZ meeting, which was convened to allow the eye health community to get on board and provide crucial feedback to EY before it gives its report to government. The meeting was held at the Novotel in Ellerslie on the 1 July. There were 60 leading retinal specialists from across the country, plus a number of ophthalmic nurses and other eye health practitioners. All participated in an afternoon of engaging discussions and presentations, which provided the catalyst for enthusiastic debate during the breaks.
Engaging government
