Tasmania has an ageing population, often poor health outcomes and a high prevalence of diabetes. What does that mean for our eye health? Health reporter EMILY BAKER talks to the experts.
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IN ABOUT 15 years, Launceston has tripled its number of ophthalmologists due to an increased need for eye surgery. And demand is expected to keep rising.
Launceston Eye Doctors ophthalmologist Nicholas Downie said there was no single reason for the rise in surgeries.
An ageing population had seen an increase in conditions such as macular degeneration, he said, and new technologies and improved techniques meant surgery was more accessible than ever.
Age-related degenerative diseases such as cataract and glaucoma are the major causes of blindness and vision loss in Australia. Other conditions that cause significant vision loss include diabetic retinopathy, retinitis pigmentosa, eye injuries, uncorrected or under-corrected refractive error and trachoma.
The national Department of Health has estimated the health and social costs of vision disorders reaches $9.85billion a year.
Dr Downie started working in Launceston in 1979 after graduating from Sydney University in 1972. He said his profession had changed ‘‘out of sight’’ in that time.
‘‘There are some conditions that are more prevalent than they were, and to a large extent that’s due to the ageing of the population,’’ he said. ‘‘If people are going to live an extra 10 years, they’ve got an extra 10 years to get diseases of old age.
‘‘We do much more cataract surgery than we used to, partly because the population is ageing and partly because the treatment has changed out of sight.’’
Laser eye surgery is now common, corneal transplants are practically routine, and new technologies allow ophthalmologists to see into the structure of each patient’s eyes like never before.
Dr Downie said the changes meant that eye doctors were increasingly becoming sub-specialists.
‘‘There have been two ophthalmologists in Launceston from 40, 50 years ago until about 15, 20 years ago, and now there are five full-time eye doctors and we’re about to get a sixth,’’ he said.
‘‘Our specialty – it’s unrecognisable from what it was 40 years ago. This year’s operation is a bit different from last year’s operation, which is a bit different from the year before.’’
Dr Downie said the demand throughout Australia was practically limitless but, in Tasmania at least, not unserviceable.
‘‘The demand side is manageable,’’ he said. ‘‘By and large, our interventions are pretty good.
‘‘Our argument as eye doctors is that mostly what we do makes a lot of difference to people’s lives and they’re grateful for our efforts, which makes it a terrific career.’’
