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Meet Outreach practitioner Luke Higgins: An optometrist's passion for rural healthcare in the outback
3rd October 2024
Optometrist Luke Higgins shares his experience of a particularly rewarding day on a Visiting Optometrists Scheme (VOS) clinic visit to Ivanhoe during a weather delay at Broken Hill Aerodrome.
“The time between rain events in the desert can be long, and only makes the transformation of the desert when the rain arrives starker. The desert grasses and flowers explode into life, complimenting the natural colours of the red sand and yellow acacia trees.
I have always loved the smell of rain in the desert. It has an electric charge that you can smell and taste. It smells like wet eucalyptus leaves and makes the red and orange rocks shine. The electricity comes from the remnants of a tropical front sweeping down from the north to give its last quenching rain, before fading away in the dry heat that radiates from the centre of this huge continent.
I was considering these two things as I waited at the Broken Hill Aerodrome, looking out at the RFDS hangar, waiting for a break in the rain, so we could fly out to Ivanhoe.
The call had come through a few minutes earlier that the weather was bad from Ivanhoe to Broken Hill, with low cloud, causing us to be grounded for another half an hour or so.
I was on my way to Ivanhoe to provide my first eye clinic there. I provide optometry services supported through the VOS in Broken Hill, Menindee, Wilcannia and Ivanhoe. The far west New South Wales is my Outreach circuit, and I love it. Everything about it, the wide-open spaces, the sluggish rivers through the dry plains, and most of all, providing eye care to the beautiful communities.
If you haven’t considered working in the regions and remote locations as a health practitioner – you really should – it is an amazing experience.
While waiting for the weather to clear, I was having a coffee and chatting with the clinic staff about to start their day in the outreach clinic, when the first call for help came through the switchboard. The clinical case was a tele-health call. It was a station-hand that was reporting severe ocular pain.
What luck! An optometrist was stranded in the clinic waiting for the weather to break!
The RFDS staff asked the patient if it was okay for me to sit in on the case and provide any help that I could offer. The consultation quickly turned into a collaborative effort. Alongside the managing GP and a GP student, I helped narrow down the potential causes of the patient’s symptoms. We recommended a treatment plan and the patient was advised to follow up with their regular optometrist later in the week.
This was a classic example of how the right skills and expertise, combined with the reach of telehealth services, can lead to effective care even in the most remote parts of the country. Being able to provide immediate, on-the-spot advice not only alleviated the patient’s discomfort but also highlighted the importance of having skilled health professionals available in regional areas.
I am grateful to the Rural Doctor's Network for making it possible for me to be a part of this patient's care. The experience reinforced my belief in the value of working in remote communities, where the impact of our services can be life changing. If you haven't considered working in the regions or remote locations as a health practitioner, I encourage you to do so. It's an amazing experience that will not only broaden your professional skills but also provide personal fulfillment that is hard to find elsewhere.
As the rain finally cleared and we prepared to fly out to Ivanhoe, I felt a deep sense of satisfaction. We had turned a weather delay into an opportunity to help someone in need, proving once again that in the outback, just like in the desert, life can burst into action when you least expect it.”
This incident demonstrated the critical role of skilled health professionals and telehealth in delivering timely care in remote areas, highlighting the importance of supporting healthcare services in these regions.
About VOS
The Visiting Optometrists Scheme (VOS) was first established in 1975. It supports optometrists to deliver Outreach optometric services to locations which would not otherwise have ready access to primary eye care. The Scheme is one of the Australian Government's Outreach programs administered in NSW and the ACT by RDN.
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