For families

The annual eye care program

Enrol someone in residential aged care once, and their eyes are examined every year without you having to organise it again.

There is no cost to the aged care home either. Nothing is dispensed without your approval or the resident's.

Why a program

Why do eyes get missed in aged care?

Cataract, glaucoma and macular degeneration progress without pain, and a resident who cannot report a change in vision is unlikely to have one raised on their behalf.

Up to 60% of aged care residents have some vision impairment, against roughly 5% of people over 70 living in the community.1 Refractive correction alone, which means the right pair of glasses, could improve vision in up to half of nursing home residents.2 Among residents who had an eye condition recorded, fewer than half accessed an eye health service in their first year.3

What changes

Reading, faces and falls

Reading again, recognising faces, seeing the edge of a step, and watching television without sitting on top of it.

A randomised trial of second eye cataract surgery in women over 70 found a 32% lower rate of falling in the operated group, although that result did not reach statistical significance.4 Most of what causes vision loss in this age group is correctable or treatable.

How it works

Four steps, once a year

01

You enrol the resident

The form below takes a couple of minutes. You need the resident's name, the home they live in and your contact details.

02

We schedule with the home

We coordinate the date and access with the facility, working around meal times, medication rounds and activities. You are told the date.

03

The examination

A full hour per resident, in the clinic vehicle at the home or at the bedside. Where glasses are recommended, we contact you before anything is ordered.

04

Report, then recall

A written report goes to the care team and the GP, and we contact you about anything that changed. The next due date is recorded and we come back.

Plainly

What am I agreeing to?

Enrolling puts the resident on a list for an annual comprehensive eye examination and lets us contact you and the aged care home to arrange it. It is not a confirmed appointment, and clinical consent is taken again at the visit itself.

You are not agreeing to buy anything. Where the optometrist recommends a change of prescription, we contact you to discuss it, and an order is only placed with your approval or the resident's. Prices are published on this site.

You can withdraw the resident at any time by calling 0402 725 735 or emailing admin@sightonsite.com.au. They come off the list before the next visit and we do not contact you about it again.

How we handle personal and health information is set out in the privacy policy.

Enrolment

Enrol a resident

Free, with no obligation. We reply within one business day.

Optional, but it helps us plan the day.

Optional. Leave it blank and we will phone instead.

The resident is enrolled.

Thanks, we have the enrolment. We will be in touch within one business day, and we will contact you and the facility once a visit date is confirmed.

Prefer to talk it through? Call +61 402 725 735 or email admin@sightonsite.com.au.

Questions

Questions from families

What does it cost to enrol?
Nothing. Enrolment is free and there is no obligation to buy anything. The eye examination is bulk billed to Medicare for residents with a valid Medicare card. Without a Medicare card the examination is $110.
Who can enrol a resident?
The resident themselves, or the person responsible for them, which is usually a family member or an enduring power of attorney. If you are not sure whether you are the person responsible, the facility can tell you.
How often will the resident be seen?
Once a year. A comprehensive eye examination is bulk billed once every 12 months for people aged 65 and over. We record the due date and contact the facility and you when it comes around. Residents with diabetes or a diagnosed eye condition can be reviewed more often where it is clinically indicated.
Will I be told what was found?
Yes. A written report goes to the care team and to the resident's GP, and we contact you where the prescription has changed or something needs follow up. Referrals to ophthalmology are written on the day.
Does the resident have to buy glasses?
No. No resident has to buy glasses to have their eyes examined. Where new glasses are recommended, nothing is ordered without your approval or the resident's, and the price is given before you decide. A complete pair is $149.
What if the resident has dementia and cannot answer questions?
The examination still goes ahead. Where a resident cannot give reliable verbal responses we use objective testing that does not depend on them answering, and we work in shorter blocks with familiar staff nearby. Anything that could not be assessed is written into the report.
Can I take the resident off the program?
Yes, at any time, by calling or emailing us. We remove them from the list before the next visit and do not contact you about it again.
Does the facility have to agree?
The facility coordinates the day and confirms access, but the decision to have the examination is the resident's or their person responsible's. There is no cost to the facility either.

Sources

  1. Holloway EE, Constantinou M, Xie J, et al. Improving eye care in residential aged care facilities using the Residential Ocular Care (ROC) model. Trials 2018;19:650, citing Lamoureux et al. 2009. doi.org/10.1186/s13063-018-3025-5
  2. Sainz-Gomez et al. 2010, as cited in Holloway EE, et al. Trials 2018;19:650.
  3. Khadka J, Ratcliffe J, Caughey GE, Wesselingh SL, Inacio MC. Prevalence of eye conditions, utilization of eye health care services, and ophthalmic medications after entering residential aged care in Australia. Translational Vision Science & Technology 2021. Cohort of 409,186 people aged 65 and over; of the 178,367 with a recorded eye condition, 46.4% accessed at least one eye health service within the first year.
  4. Foss AJE, Harwood RH, Osborn F, Gregson RM, Zaman A, Masud T. Falls and health status in elderly women following second eye cataract surgery: a randomised controlled trial. Age and Ageing 2006;35(1):66-71. Rate ratio 0.68, 95% CI 0.39 to 1.19, P = 0.18.
Aged care homes

Running an aged care home?

Clinic days, reporting and clinical governance detail for providers, at no cost to the facility.

For aged care providers Call 0402 725 735