12 May, 2020
May is traditionally Macula Month – an awareness initiative spearheaded by the Macular Disease Foundation Australia (MDFA). Last year, the Queensland Eye Institute Foundation (QEIF) hosted a successful Macula Day information seminar and morning tea, welcoming over 110 guests.
Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic prevents us from hosting a Macula Day event this year. Instead, focus has shifted on a more pressing issue – the recently significant decline in Australians attending sight saving eye treatments (such as eye injections for diabetic eye disease and wet age related macular degeneration).
To comment on this, QEI Clinic’s Associate Professor Anthony Kwan was recently interviewed by Channel 9 News, as part of an urgent warning for Queenslanders to not neglect their regular health checkups throughout the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
In the segment, Associate Professor Kwan highlights why it is important for patients to keep up with their eye treatments in order to prevent potential irreversible vision loss. You can find the clip on QEI’s Facebook page.
A campaign emphasising this message was recently launched by MDFA, with the help of Ita Buttrose AC OBE. Please find Ita’s address to the nation below.