NSW School of Orthoptics

The training of students in orthoptics was commenced in NSW in 1939 under the guidance of the Orthoptic Council of NSW. The Council was set up following recommendations of the Hospitals Commission of NSW. In 1937 the Hospitals Commission had established the Committee for Standardisation of Accessory Hospital Services to oversee the qualifications and training of technical staff who were employed in NSW public hospitals. Following the review, the Hospitals Commission requested the NSW Branch of the Ophthalmological Society of Australia (OSA) to set up a body to train and register orthoptists “to ensure they were trained and had the required technical skills to safely treat patients in public hospitals. The Commission directed that the course for the training of orthoptic technicians be twelve months and be conducted by the Orthoptic Council appointed by the Ophthalmological Society of New South Wales. The Council would issue certificates of proficiency to students who completed the prescribed course of lectures, tutorial classes and demonstrations and passed the examinations. Responding to the request the NSW Branch of the OSA set up a sub-committee, the Orthoptic Council of NSW. The Orthoptic Council held its first meeting on 1 March 1939. Its objects were to regulate training and the qualification of NSW orthoptic trainees; to register orthoptists in NSW; to control orthoptists and the practice of orthoptics in NSW, and to maintain professional and ethical standards. The course was extended to 18 months in 1948 and 2 years in 1957. [source: Hindsight - Development of Orthoptics in Australia 1931-60 by Shayne Brown accessed 2/7/2021 at https://ses.library.usyd.edu.au/bitstream/handle/2123/23551/Hindsight%20-%20Development%20of%20Orthoptics%20in%20Australia%201931-60%20by%20Shayne%20Brown.pdf?sequence=1As from 1973 the school became part of the NSW Paramedical College as a college of advanced education: 'NSW Government Gazette 27 April 1973: It is hereby notified that in terms of section 17(1) of the Higher Education Act, 1969, the New South Wales College of Paramedical Studies is declared a college of advanced education within the Ministry of Education as from 1st July, 1973. The college was proclaimed "a corporate College of Advanced Education" on 1st October, 1974. From the 1st of July 1973, the school of orthoptics became part of the NSW College of Paramedical Studies. On 6 June 1975, the College was renamed the Cumberland College of Health Sciences.