With the start of a year comes new possibilities for each of us to grow personally and professionally. But what about the children?
With so much potential in every child, eye care professionals have a responsibility to ensure their eye health and visual needs are cared for from day dot. However, often parents are unaware of the need to have their children’s eyes screened and we do not have a national screening protocol.
In this issue, guest editor Dr Sandra Staffieri AO takes us into the complex world of paediatric eye care. She and other experts in their field look at when and how to screen children for vision and ocular health. Also in this issue, we hear about RANZCO’s initiative to develop a collaborative approach to paediatric eye care, about considerations when looking after the needs of young patients and their carers from culturally and linguistically diverse communities, and about conditions that can be blinding if left untreated.
In this issue we also pay tribute to Mark Cushway, co-founder of mivision and editor from the first issue published in 2008 until December 2016. Mark was a dynamic personality with an unwavering commitment to the eye health community and to fostering collaborative care within the profession. We received many messages of condolences following the news of his passing and with them vignettes of his interactions with members of our community. Those messages reminded us of how much he achieved in his professional and personal life. He will be missed.
I wish you all the best as we head into the second month of 2025.
