“My first day of Visiting Disability Service was coded as aged-care, so when I walked in and found out I had to see 14 patients with intellectual disabilities –  I was unprepared.”

Fast forward 18 years, Josephine Li’s passion and dedication to deliver eye care to vulnerable individuals in the community has led her to driving the ACO Outreach programs.

What is Visiting Disability Services?

For over 25 years, ACO’s Visiting Disability Services (VDS) has delivered eye care to people in Community Residential Units (CRUs) and day facilities who may struggle to find appropriate care in commercial practices or attend a typical optometry practice. By providing care in a familiar environment, residents feel at ease and tend to be cooperative, resulting in a more comprehensive  eye exam. This is critical as over 80% of people with profound intellectual disabilities are likely have some form of ocular condition.

The ACO works with Scope, one of Australia’s largest providers of disability support services to deliver annual eye checks at several of their Supported Independent Living (SIL) sites. Josephine has been visiting the Helen St residence in St Albans for the last ten years. We spoke to her about the importance of delivering VDS, as well as its challenges.

Not your typical consultation

Helen St residents require a high level of support and have complex communication needs, meaning Josephine must modify testing techniques to meet the needs of each patient.

She explained, “Although most patients are non-verbal and may not understand me, I still explain things and show them what I am going to do. For instance, if I need to check their pupils, I will shine that light on my hand, then theirs, and then go on to shine it on the patient’s eye. Step by step, physical approach.”

“The patient may be in pain, but they don’t know how to tell the staff, their vision may gradually get worse, and they lose their ability to perform daily tasks leading to behavioural changes”.

Outside your comfort zone

Delivering eye care as an outreach optometrist comes with its own unique challenges but Josephine assures that it also provides a plethora of rich experiences for staff involved.

“Be ready to spend outside the comfort zone; and try not to get too comfortable doing what you are doing. There are always new things to learn in every outreach trip.”

Hear from Vicki Hearn, Helen St House Supervisor