Associate Professor Hessom Razavi is behind a new service restoring vision and hope to vulnerable members of our community.
Indigenous Australians, refugees and asylum seekers experience high rates of vision loss, largely preventable with improved access to care. In Perth, their access to public ophthalmology services is limited by prolonged wait times and cultural, linguistic, and geographical barriers. Associate Professor Razavi recently established an eye care service tailored to these communities.
The service employs a collaborative care model, featuring an ophthalmologist, optometrist, and ophthalmology registrar working together to offer a comprehensive service, encompassing refraction, outpatient sub-specialist treatments, and surgeries. The service aspires to bridge the eye care gap for Indigenous, refugee, and asylum seeker populations in an urban setting, improving their overall eye health.
Mrs Hosini fled Afghanistan several years ago and was placed in Sydney, Australia in February 2023. By this time, she was completely blind due to cataracts, making her transition into a new country difficult. Thanks to Associate Professor Razavi from the Lions Eye Institute and the generosity of several kind-hearted people, Mrs Hosini recently travelled from Sydney to Perth for sight saving surgery.
We were honoured to capture her story in the video below.
