Canberra Hospital Foundation saves sight for Seniors

An outstandingly generous donation from Canberra Hospital Foundation has allowed the ACT Department of Ophthalmology to resume its service to new patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD). AMD is the leading cause of irreversible blindness in the West, but fortunately a treatment has become available over the last few years which stabilises and may even improve vision, thus preventing a huge amount of suffering in elderly patients from loss of vision, falls and depression.

The Department of Ophthalmology is based at Canberra Hospital, and since 2008 has gone from seeing no Outpatients to seeing 10,000 a year.  To meet this meteoric expansion of service, ACT Health has constructed a new Eye Clinic in Building 3 at Canberra Hospital, providing a much-needed 250sqm of custom-built space. This is where Canberra Hospital Foundation has come in, supplying $45,000 of patient examination equipment to commission the new Clinic. Patient examination chairs have been purchased which fully recline at the push of a button, allowing patients to have the necessary treatment for their AMD in comfort and safety.