“I REALLY need somewhere I can get my eyes fixed.”

Those words from Steve Cooper reflect what has happened to ophthalmology in Portland.

The service has been in limbo since ophthalmologist Robert Harvey resigned from Portland District Health at the end of March, leaving about 140 patients needing surgery having to assess what options they had for further treatment.

One of those is to still see Dr Harvey – but that requires travelling to Mount Gambier where he practises two days a week, and also joining another waiting list, potentially adding another 10-12 months on to their wait.

“Most of the patients I have want to stay with me in Mount Gambier,” Dr Harvey said.

“I’ve also got a lot of older people with poor eyesight who can’t travel, and I don’t know what’s going to happen with them.

“It also puts a big burden on family and friends.

“Typically patients will need to make a number of journeys to attend the assessment clinic in private rooms, attend the hospital as a day case and usually subsequent follow-up visits.”

And it doesn’t just affect Portlanders.

“I’ve got patients coming from Colac, Peterborough, Camperdown,” he said.

The other options are two ophthalmologists in Warrnambool.

Dr Harvey recently bought Sandilands (formerly the Portland Business Hub) in Percy St but will not develop that until he is sure it is worthwhile – his application to re-join PDH as a visiting medical officer was rejected by the board.

“Of course this creates further delay which is regrettable especially for those patients waiting a long time,” he said.

“Now you will have to be referred and wait for an appointment to be assessed over again and be put onto another surgical waiting list.”

One of the patients left in limbo is Mr Cooper.

Based in Wallacedale, the former high-ranking CFA official retied about 18 months ago  hoping to spend some time touring the nation.

But things haven’t worked out that way due to his eyesight.

He needed cataract operations in both eyes and has been seeing Dr Harvey for the past two years.

Last year he had surgery on his right eye – in a twist of fate, that was because Dr Harvey couldn’t hold clinics in Mount Gambier due to the coronavirus lockdowns, leaving room to operate on more patients in Portland.

But that still leaves Mr Cooper’s left eye.

“Because Rob’s not being replaced I’ve been taken off the waiting list completely because there’s no surgery taking place until he is replaced,” he said.

“Not only can’t I see him in Portland, I have to go to Mount Gambier.

“It’s just a bit disappointing.”

Mr Cooper has also been getting injections in his eye from Dr Harvey but until things were at a suitable stage he couldn’t see an optometrist for new glasses.

However, the wait has been too long, and he is taking the plunge to get new glasses today.

“I can’t wait any longer,” Mr Cooper said.

“I’m borderline for driving and that’s putting a big restriction on me.

“Until I can get the other eye done it’s just very frustrating.

“I could get very political, but this is all about budget cuts.

“The more highlights they can put on this, maybe they’ll do something about it.”

A PDH spokesman said the health service continued to seek replacement ophthalmology services.

“We are working hard to overcome the challenges faced by all regional healthcare providers in recruiting such specialists,” he said.

“Our staff are working hard to ensure any delays to service are minimal and that we provide continuity of care for patients.

“We know how important high-quality ophthalmology services are for our community and will do whatever we can to ensure community members can receive the care they need.”