Boroondara medical team helps rehab and eye care services in Fiji

A GROUP of Boroondara medical professionals has started a charity dedicated to rehabilitation and eye care services for people living in Fiji.

Health professionals worked alongside nurses in Fiji and teach them skills to provide care to villagers.

A GROUP of Boroondara medical professionals has started a charity dedicated to rehabilitation and eye care services for people living in Fiji.

The Coral Coast Rehabilitation project is the brainchild of Kew East couple Marina Demetrios and Shane McSweeney, a rehabilitation medicine physician and occupational therapist respectively.

The doctors joined up with physiotherapist Julie Louie and orthoptist Fleur O’Hare to recently spend two weeks running health clinics, alongside nurses, for residents in the Korelevu-i-wai villages.

Dr Demetrios said the people living in these villages did not access health care services due to costs, the inability to take time off work and a general mistrust of health care providers.

“The village nurses are volunteers who do not receive any health care resources or education,” she said.

“They are the main point of contact for the villagers. Each village has a dispensary ... and they are empty, except for one which housed a lawnmower.

“The village nurses are volunteers who do not receive any health care resources or education.” — Dr Marina Demetrios.

“A critical component of our project is to work with the village nurses and provide them with education and skills to empower them to provide health care.”

Dr Demetrios said the project was self funded, with some support from Australian and Fijian businesses.

“We do not have any secured funding for 2015, however we plan to run the clinics once or twice yearly.

“Over the year we will continue to provide education to the village nurses online.”

To learn more about the project, go to coralcoastrehabilitation.org.au