St John of God Subiaco Eye Hospital celebrates first anniversary by purchasing state-of-the-art microscope

18 Dec 2023

Ophthalmologist and St John of God Subiaco Hospital Ophthalmology Head of Department Dr Olivia MacVie (centre), with caregivers from the St John of God Subiaco Eye Hospital

Since opening in late 2022, more than 4,000 members of the Western Australian community have been cared for at the facility.

Ophthalmologist and St John of God Subiaco Hospital Ophthalmology Head of Department Dr Olivia MacVie said the new facility has enhanced the hospital experience for patients undergoing eye procedures and treatments.

“As the hospital is dedicated to just one specialty, we have been able to streamline patients’ hospital experiences and ensure they receive the highest standards of safe and compassionate clinical care,” she said.

“Care is delivered by caregivers who are specially trained in ophthalmic procedures and services, and benefit from the guidance and support of an onsite clinical nurse educator who has introduced a comprehensive training and professional development program. 

“The facility is also equipped with the latest ophthalmic technologies and equipment to support best possible patient outcomes and enable our hospital’s ophthalmologists to perform the latest, most innovative procedures.

“In fact, as part of St John of God Subiaco Hospital’s continued investment in the facility, St John of God Subiaco Eye Hospital will become the first private hospital in Western Australia to install the Zeiss OPMI Lumera 700 microscope in March next year.

“This is very exciting news not only for everyone who works at the eye hospital, but for our patients and the broader community too.”

The Zeiss OPMI Lumera 700 microscope is suitable for all ophthalmic procedures and provides unparalleled vision for ophthalmologists, helping to enhance procedural efficiencies and accuracy, as well as decision making and surgical outcomes.

Using the device, ophthalmologists can access optical coherence tomography (OCT), an emerging technology used to create high-resolution cross-section images of tissue structure on the micron scale in real-time. OCT allows ophthalmologists to see the retina’s distinctive layers and map and measure their thickness. This helps to guide diagnosis and treatment for a range of conditions including glaucoma and retinal disease such as age-related macular degeneration. 

“St John of God Subiaco Eye Hospital already benefits from the expertise of 38 of the state’s leading ophthalmologists. I am confident that even more specialists will choose to admit their patients to the hospital following the installation of this innovative device, resulting in further service growth,” Dr MacVie said.

St John of God Subiaco Hospital Director of Medical Services Dr David McCoubrie said the hospital’s executive team is committed to ensuring specialists and caregivers receive the support they need to deliver the highest standard of care to the community.

“Continued investment in the eye hospital will allow us to provide leading ophthalmic care now and into the future. It will also build on our organisation’s long history of innovation and investing in leading edge technology,” he said.

“We were delighted to be able to announce the purchase of the microscope at the eye hospital’s first anniversary celebrations. It was pleasing to see how this exciting news was received amongst those in attendance.”

To accommodate the microscope, a third operating theatre in the eye hospital will be commissioned. The commissioning of the theatre will enable increased numbers of procedures to be performed at the facility and the continued expansion of St John of God Subiaco Hospital’s ophthalmology service.