Diabetes Australia works with Carbal Medical Services (Carbal), a Toowoomba and Warwick-based Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health organization, to reduce diabetes-related vision loss and blindness among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in the Darling Downs.
Diabetes is a leading cause of vision loss and blindness, but only about 50% of people with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander diabetes have their eyes checked within the recommended deadlines.
Diabetes Australia – Carbal’s partnership includes sponsoring KeepSight, an eye exam reminder program run by Diabetes Australia that encourages people with diabetes to have regular eye exams. The program will use locally developed, culturally appropriate resources and information.
Professor Greg Johnson, CEO of Diabetes Australia, said he was excited to be working with Carbal to deliver messages about the eye health of diabetes to First Nations in the region.
“Everyone with diabetes is at risk of eye damage, but most vision loss can be prevented with regular diabetes eye exams, early detection and early treatment,” said Professor Johnson.
“But you can’t wait for signs or symptoms of eye problems because when the symptoms appear, the damage is done and the treatments are less effective. This is why regular diabetes eye checks are so important – so that problems can be detected early, before the damage is severe and treatment is easier and more effective.
“Good vision is not always an indicator that everything is okay. Regular and early diabetes eye exams – along with daily diabetes monitoring – are the best ways to prevent vision loss. “
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders are nearly four times more likely to live with diabetes than non-indigenous Australians. Improving health outcomes for Aboriginal communities and the Torres Strait Islander is a priority for Diabetes Australia. For this reason, the organization has teamed up with Carbal to provide KeepSight on-site in the Darling Downs.
Brian Hewitt, CEO of Carbal Medical Services, said a partnership with Diabetes Australia would improve the eye health of First Nations people with diabetes across the region.
“Delivering the best holistic care possible means working together on a number of health initiatives, and this is a great partnership that will help our mob manage their eye health with diabetes,” said Hewitt.
“Eye health is usually not the first diabetes-related issue that people using our services think they need to consider.
Diabetes eye exams can be easily overlooked when there are so many other aspects of managing our diabetes and our health – but the good news is that vision loss from diabetes is preventable if acted early.
“Regular checkups are possibly the most important thing people can do to keep their eyes healthy.
“A referral is not required, visits to the optician are usually billed and the diabetes eye check only takes about 30 minutes.
“We encourage all of our diabetes patients to sign up with KeepSight so they can get the diabetes eye exams they need when they need it.
“People can sign up when they’re at the clinic, or online at www.keepsight.org.au, or by going to an optometrist and doing a diabetes eye check and asking the optician to register them. More than 170,000 Australians with diabetes have already joined KeepSight. “
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