PerthNorg

WA's big role in new Bali eye hospital

West Australians have played a crucial role in the new Australia Bali Memorial Eye Centre, which is being opened by the Prime Minister today in Denpasar, Bali. 

 

The Centre grew out of the terrorist attack on Bali in October 2002, in which 202 people (including 88 Australians and 38 Indonesians) died. 

 

Elizabeth Zambotti, director of nursing at the Lions Eye Institute in Nedlands, has played a key role in the Centre’s development. 

 

She says West Australians can take great pride in the Centre. 

 

“The Bali bombings highlighted the need for improvement to Bali’s health system and that international assistance was needed to make this happen,” Ms Zambotti said. 

 

More than $3.3 million has gone into the Centre, and Ms Zambotti has played a crucial role in the Centre’s design and construction. Some of the initial design meetings were held at the Lions Eye Institute. 

 

“The Centre has state-of-the-art biomedical equipment, and the clinical areas including the operating theatres, ward and clinic have all been designed and built to meet Australian standards,” she said. 

 

LEI’s Professor Ian Constable says more than 30 Indonesian doctors and nurses have been trained at LEI, enabling them to return to their country with higher skills. 

 

Indonesian ophthalmologist Dr Made Argus spent several months at LEI learning about the latest laser surgery for glaucoma, and is now working at the Centre. 

 

“For 30 years senior LEI staff and other WA ophthalmologists have travelled to Indonesia at their own expense to provide training and impart the latest surgical techniques and treatment,” Professor Constable says. 

 

“In this way we’ve helped build a critical mass of skilled Indonesian ophthalmologists so they can tackle the backlog of millions of existing and new cases of curable blindness. 

 

“Because of its proximity to south-east Asia, LEI strongly believes it has a humanitarian responsibility to use its technical expertise to do something about the huge rate of blindness in Indonesia.” 

 

The Centre is owned and managed by the Bali Provincial Department of Health and operated in partnership with the John Fawcett Foundation and its Indonesian arm, the Yayasan Kemanusiaan Indonesia.