Western Sydney Diabetes (WSD) was established in response to the growing threat diabetes poses to our community’s health and wellbeing. Western Sydney is a diabetes hotspot with disease rates higher than the New South Wales (NSW) average. If this ‘hotspot’ is not addressed, within a decade it will cause an unsustainable economic and societal burden on the state’s healthcare system.
Lilly Psomadelis is an Optometrist and Eye Health Educator with Sight For All and an Alliance Partner of WSD. One of Lilly’s key objectives is to provide eye health education sessions, at no cost, to the public, to raise awareness of common eye conditions, including the binding effect of diabetes.
Lilly was quoted in a recent WSD article, stating that most people are aware of the harm it can cause to vital organs such as the kidneys and heart, but not the significant impact on the eyes.
“This disease includes diabetic retinopathy, diabetic macular edema, cataracts, and glaucoma, which can all result in devastating vision loss if left untreated,” Ms Psomadelis said.
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