Flinders University has opened a state of the art $7.4 million teaching clinic enabling optometry students to see real patients and providing optometry services to the South Australian community.

Flinders Vision Clinic is located in the Sturt precinct of the University’s Bedford Park campus, adjacent to the Department of Optometry and Vision Science.

The purpose-built facility will strengthen clinical training initiatives through cutting edge technologies including video recording of consultations so supervisors can watch in real time as consultations occur.

The clinic will run as a standard optometry practice open to the general public and will offer optometry services to Flinders University students, staff and their families.

Direct billing has been made available for overseas students through agreements with private health funds, making the clinic the only site in South Australia where overseas students can claim electronically for an optometric consultation.

The centre’s principal optometrist, Mr Jason Booth, said the clinic will offer improved services to the community through plans to establish specialist clinics on-site and outreach services for Indigenous people and immigrants.

“Flinders Vision will engage directly with the community through a commercial shop front providing optometry services and specialised care pathways for paediatric, diabetes and glaucoma patients. Operating largely as a teaching clinic, students will have access to an on-site facility to help them understand the optometry business,” Mr Booth said.

Head of Optometry and Vision Science at Flinders, Professor Konrad Pesudovs, commended the opportunities the new clinic offers for teaching and research.

“The facility offers innovative modern technologies to aid in the clinical training of our students including a large space dedicated to research which will be used mainly by postdoctoral and PhD students,” Professor Pesudovs said.

Fourth and fifth-year optometry students will commence placements in the clinic in the coming months.

The practice manager is Mr David Jacobs, who has 25 years experience as an optical dispenser, and optometrist Mr Ben Hamlyn will also work at the centre.

Appointment bookings can be made by phoning (08) 7221 8700.