The Outback Eye Service is jointly funded by Western NSW Primary Health Network and the Fred Hollows Foundation, and delivered by the Department of Ophthalmology at the Prince of Wales Hospital as part of the South Eastern Sydney Local Health District.
The Outback Eye Service provides specialist care for people with eye problems living in rural areas.
They provide assessment, diagnosis, management and treatement, including surgery.
They visit five rural locations in our Western NSW region: Bourke, Brewarrina, Cobar, Lightning Ridge, and Walgett.
Services are provided via referral from GPs and specialists.
Good News Story
Lightning Ridge resident Steve Wright is enjoying life with much improved vision in his left eye thanks to the intervention of the Outback Eye Service.
At the age of six, Steve lost his right eye in an accident and now wears a prosthetic eye, while an urgent referral to the OES at the Walgett Clinic in September 2022 resulted in Steve being transferred to Sydney for immediate treatment on his left eye.
Suffering an ulcer and scarring in the left eye, and vision limited to seeing hand movements, Steve was flown to Sydney Eye Hospital that afternoon where he underwent a cornea transplant as a last resort attempt at saving the vision in his left eye.
Remarkably, Steve’s sight has been restored to 6/12 – a result that was completely unexpected.