Students at Home Hill State School now have a clearer picture of the state of their vision thanks to the Lions Eye Health Program (LEHP).
The program brought trained Lions volunteers from across north Queensland to the school on Monday, October 30 to conduct a series of eyesight screens on students of all ages.
LEHP is an Australia-wide initiative that has been visiting schools across the country for eight years.
Irene Braddick is the LEHP Facilitator for the north Queensland region, travelling to remote and regional locations with a team of volunteers to complete the screenings.
“Kids don’t know, they think they see the same as everybody else,” Ms Braddick said.
“It’s so important to get to the regional schools because otherwise they miss out.”
Students are led through four different tests; one photographing their eyes with a Welch Allyn vision screener, one testing their ability to identify shapes, one testing their depth perception and one testing their perception of colours.
If volunteers identify anything that needs to be investigated further, the parents are referred to optometrists for further testing.
“We pick up one in five for a referral to an optometrist for a full eye examination and I do ask the schools to follow up those referrals,” Ms Braddick said.
“90 per cent of vision loss is preventable, it’s just a matter of going back for a screening.
“When we come back next year, then we might pick up something new because eyes alter all the time.”
It’s the first time the program has been in the region and Home Hill – Ayr Lions club member and Public Affairs Officer for North Queensland Nick Wiseman is eager to expand it into other schools.
“This is my first time volunteering but it’s something that I and our local Lions club are keen to get rolled out across the area, especially for the smaller schools,” he said.
“We all know kids and even adults get overlooked with all types of health issues, so identifying vision issues early on in their life is extremely important, so I’d love to see as many kids in the Burdekin as possible get the opportunity.”
LEHP Facilitator Irene Braddick and Home Hill – Ayr Lions club member Nick Wiseman
The eye screening involved a number of tests
Photo credit: Sam Gillespie
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