Dr Kris Rallah-Baker: Australia's first Aboriginal Ophthalmologist

Dr Kristopher (Kris) Rallah-Baker is Australia’s first and only Aboriginal ophthalmologist, making him a trailblazer and an inspiration throughout Australia.

Cover photo: Michael Amendolia
Caption: Dr Kris Rallah-Baker with Moses Silver before surgery at Sunrise Health Service Aboriginal Corporation.

Dr Kris Rallah-Baker examines Moses Silver’s eyesight at Sunrise Health Service Aboriginal Corporation
Photo: Michael Amendolia

Professor Fred Hollows believed in self-determination and Aboriginal community control of health.

“You have got to get people involved, you have got to mobilise them, you have got to make the health system a part of them.”

- Fred Hollows

“Fred’s legacy gave me the hope to achieve the impossible and I succeeded against an immeasurable tide of opposition and fear, with the assistance of a number of Fred’s former registrars,” says Dr Kris Rallah-Baker.

Dr Kris recalls the day when Fred’s passing was announced on the national evening news:

“I was 14 years old and as a schoolboy knew his name due to the work he had done, particularly in Aboriginal communities across Australia.

“His work was genuine and tireless and occurred at a time in Australian history when Australia’s First Peoples were increasingly being allowed a voice to speak and the freedom to express the hope of self-determination.”

Dr Kris goes on to say that rather than working from a deficit model, recalling negative health statistics and depressing failures in government policy as a norm, he prefers to work from a strengths-based model that focuses on the successes achieved year on year.

“It is easy to forget, when surrounded by negative messaging, how much has been achieved in the short time since Australia’s First Peoples were recognised in the Australian Constitution a mere 52 years ago.

“I prefer to focus on the significant positive intergenerational health impacts of Fred’s work and the positive outcomes achieved by The Foundation in relation to eye care in Australia,” Dr Kris says.

Who is Dr Kris Rallah-Baker?
Dr Kris Rallah-Baker’s medical training
Importance of culturally-appropriate care
Importance of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander eye health workers
Eye health facts: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations
Our commitment to training more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander eye health workers

Who is Dr Kris Rallah-Baker?

Dr Kris Rallah-Baker is a Yuggera/Biri-Gubba-Juru man. Born in Canberra, he moved to Brisbane with his parents at the age of four, where he and his brother completed their schooling.

Dr Kris was a bright student who did well in all his subjects, and at the end of high school he chose to pursue further studies in medicine.

He’d been inspired as a young boy to join the medical profession after his nanna told him how her mother had passed away from pneumonia when his nanna was just 12-years-old.

As part of the Stolen Generation, she had been traumatised and had refused to see white doctors. Because of this, she didn’t get the medical assistance she needed, causing her to pass away before her time.

“Her story was told frequently in our family and I credit her with the inspiration for me to become a medical doctor,” Dr Kris says.

Dr Kris knows firsthand how important it is to have Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples on the other side of the doctor’s desk.

“Having Aboriginal ophthalmologists at the table brings a new perspective. These patients could be like me, they could be my uncle, they could be my cousins.

“The gap itself won’t be closed by me, but it helps the conversation move along.”

Professor Fred Hollows had always insisted that in order to close the gap, Aboriginal health needed to be put in Aboriginal hands. And Dr Kris thinks that having an Aboriginal ophthalmologist would’ve been the ultimate goal for Fred.

Dr Kris Rallah-Baker answers patient Moses Silver’s questions before his eye surgery.
Photo: Michael Amendolia

Dr Kris Rallah-Baker's medical training

Graduating with a Bachelor of Medicine from the University of Newcastle in 2002, Dr Kris decided to pursue postgraduate specialist training in the branch of ophthalmology.

He trained as a comprehensive ophthalmologist at the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists (RANZCO), and was awarded his fellowship in 2018, making him the first ever Aboriginal ophthalmologist.

His journey wasn’t always an easy one, however. At school he was told he wouldn’t get into medicine, despite being a straight A student.

Aboriginal doctors were unheard of at the time and his school counsellors advised him against it.

But Dr Kris was determined to follow his path, and showed the same passion and determination Fred used to in order to pursue his mission.

Importance of culturally-appropriate care

At the age of 18, while in his first year at medical school, Kris Rallah-Baker was one of the founding members of the Australian Indigenous Doctors Association (AIDA).

AIDA is an association for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander medical students and graduates that strives to reach population parity and supports a culturally-safe health care system.

Cultural support was critical to Dr Rallah-Baker’s success during his training. The support of mentors who had faith in his ability to succeed and could support him through difficult times also helped.

Now the president of AIDA, Dr Rallah-Baker continues to be an inspiration and a source of support for others.

During his training at the University of Newcastle, Dr Kris also had the opportunity to work with The Fred Hollows Foundation’s Indigenous Australia Program in Darwin.

As part of this, he went into remote communities to provide eye health care to Aboriginal communities throughout the Northern Territory.

The experience made a significant impact on him and he plans to continue doing community outreach work throughout his career.

After passing his final exams, he spent three months in Fiji undertaking a fellowship with The Fred Hollows Foundation.

He also worked in Alice Springs with Dr Tim Henderson, the only ophthalmologist for more than 50,000 people in the Central Australia and Barkly region.

Dr Kris Rallah-Baker checks up on patients at Sunrise Health Service Aboriginal Corporation in Mataranka, NT.
Photo: Michael Amendolia

Importance of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander eye health workers

According to a 2018 Department of Health report (Australia’s Future Health Workforce - Ophthalmology), there are about 990 accredited ophthalmology specialists Australia-wide. Only 16% of these ophthalmologists work within the public sector.

The report goes on to say that access to health care is disproportionately problematic for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, and recommends training more Indigenous ophthalmologists. It also recommends that all eye health trainees complete a core component of rural and Indigenous eye health.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities across Australia are culturally diverse, from nation to nation.

Many Aboriginal patients, their relatives and carers have experienced negative outcomes and attitudes by staff in hospitals and medical clinics.

This has resulted in these types of medical facilities becoming a source of distress and shame for many.

For example, in an eye clinic, Aboriginal people are asked to break the etiquette of avoiding eye contact, a sign of respect. For many, this can be quite distressing as they can feel as though they are being singled out or forced to act in a way that contradicts their social or spiritual obligations.

As former Fred Hollows Foundation CEO Brian Doolan reported what he learned from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples in The Sydney Morning Herald:

“For many Aboriginal people in the bush, hospital is code word for 'the place you go to die' and that people are used to seeing friends and relatives go to hospital, never to return home.”

The Fred Hollows Foundation hopes that by increasing the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander eye health workers we can enhance cultural safety in the delivery of eye health services and treatment. This will contribute to more culturally appropriate and culturally informed practices and communication.

Dr Kris Rallah-Baker examines Joycie Silver’s eye.
Photo: Michael Amendolia

Eye health facts: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples are three times more likely to be blind than other Australians
Cataract is the leading cause of blindness for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults
They are 12 times more likely to suffer from a blinding cataract
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples who need cataract surgery face challenges in accessing treatment and typically wait longer than other Australians
Those living in underserviced locations across Australia face particular challenges accessing cataract surgery
Australia remains the only developed country with endemic trachoma, which is found predominantly in very remote Aboriginal communities
Rates of trachoma are falling, but there are many communities still at risk
Uncorrected refractive error is the leading cause of vision loss for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples are not accessing eye care at rates high enough to address this growing problem
Diabetes is a significant health problem for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples
It is recommended that people with diabetes receive an eye examination every year so diabetic retinopathy (DR) can be detected and treated before it causes permanent vision loss or blindness
Almost half of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples with diabetes are not currently having the recommended annual diabetes eye examinations and only one-third of those requiring treatment have received it

LEARN MORE

Our commitment to training more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander eye health workers

The Foundation believes that in order to provide effective care to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, it is crucial to work in partnership with local communities and have them lead the design and delivery of culturally-appropriate eye health care.

Through the 2020-2024 Indigenous Australia Strategy, The Fred Hollows Foundation will be making its biggest ever investment in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander eye health, contributing to the Strong Eyes, Strong Communities plan.

We're going to train more eye health workers in remote and regional Australia

Over the next five years, The Fred Hollows Foundation is committed to training more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander eye health workers by working in close partnership with Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services (ACCHs).

To strengthen the capability and coverage of the eye health workforce, we will provide learning experiences for optometry students. We will also support rural and remote clinical placements for ophthalmology fellows.

We will identify and test new ways to promote eye health careers and explore novel training pathways for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. This will help bolster the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students entering optometry, ophthalmology and other allied health and eye health training programs.

To develop the cultural competence of eye health professionals, we will invest in strengthening the cultural competency component of optometry and ophthalmology training programs. As part of this, we will develop and implement high-quality cultural competency professional development programs for established eye health professionals.

“The gap will close through long-term investments in eye health and working in partnership with Australia’s First Peoples to achieve true self-determination to drive the process to develop and implement solutions,” says Dr Kris Rallah-Baker.

Dr Kris Rallah-Baker performs eye surgery.
Photo: Michael Amendolia

“I look forward to welcoming the second Indigenous ophthalmologist in Australia, yet to be recruited, and hope to live to see the day when we reach population parity within ophthalmology.”

- Dr Kris Rallah-Baker

By 2021 The Fred Hollows Foundation aims to see:

50 additional Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander health professionals trained in eye health
30 additional service delivery coordinators employed to increase uptake of eye health services
2 additional Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander doctors enrolled in ophthalmology
5 additional Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people training to be optometrists
50 ophthalmologists and optometrists with enhanced skills in the provision of culturally-responsive services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples
100 percent of target regions are resourced with the staff required to deliver effective eye health care

Learn more

Interested in learning more about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander eye health?

Dr Kris Rallah-Baker

Australia's First Aboriginal Ophthalmologist

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