WATCH: Eye health professionals banding together to ensure better vision healthcare
Health care professionals, including optometrists and ophthalmologists, as well as supporting organizations, have signed a charter pledging to work together for patients.
“It talks about patients’ and doctors’ rights and responsibilities,” said Dr. Allan Slomovic, President of the Canadian Opthalmological Society.
The professionals admit that over the years patients have fallen through the cracks due to a splintered system — something Victoria Nolan knows first hand.
After she realised she was losing her vision and was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, she lost all confidence and became too scared to leave her home.
” I would just imagine all these scenarios and it would build up and stop me from going out. There were times in my life when I felt like there was no support and no hope,” said Nolan.
What made it even worse was that she felt like a “pioneer” navigating the health care system on her own. She had limited information coming from professionals and organizations who didn’t seem to be communicating with each other.
Now the health care professionals have not only promised to improve how they work together but to approach the provincial and federal governments with one voice.
“It’s a hodge podge across the country. There is certainly not universal coverage for all the services that are provided,” said Dr. Paul Geneau, President of the Canadian Association of Optometrists.
OHIP for example, only pays for eye exams for seniors, children and high risk adults or those with chronic issues. That has created a financial deterrent for some adults.
“With a growing and aging population, we have made the difficult decision to focus our resources on the areas where we believe they can be of greatest benefit.” said Dr. Eric Hoskins, Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, in a statement provided to Global News.
There are also calls for federal action.
“Canada needs a national vision strategy and we don’t have that,” said Geneau.
They are concerned because many eye diseases, like glaucoma, don’t have obvious symptoms, so may not be caught early without regular eye exams. That means people are losing their vision, when they don’t have to.
“Eye disease for the most part is preventable, treatable, manageable,” said John Rafferty, President of the CNIB.
Nolan, who since her diagnosis has become an author, mother and paralympic rower, said she is hopeful that in cases where vision loss can’t be prevented, the health care system looks at more than just the patients’ eyes.
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