Our Surgeons

Dr Paul McCartney was born in London, spent his early childhood on St Helena Island and South Africa before moving to Tasmania at age 12. He graduated in Medicine from the University of Tasmania in 1983 and trained in Ophthalmology at Prince of Wales Hospital, Sydney, NSW under Professor Fred Hollows. He gained his FRACO and FRACS in 1990, and then worked in the Unied Kingdom, gaining his FRCOphth in1991.

Paul returned with his family to Tasmania in late 1991 as a consultant ophthalmologist. He has been Head of the Ophthalmology Department at the Royal Hobart Hospital since 1994 and Hon Senior Lecturer at the University of Tasmania since 1992. Paul has always maintained a strong and continuous commitment to public sector ophthalmology and has been involved in the training of ophthalmology registrars and has aimed to provide public patients with high standards of diagnosis and treatment for their eye care.

Paul founded Hobart Eye surgeons, a private practice in general ophthalmology in 1998. He is the principal of this practice which has developed into a cutting edge team of highly skilled and trained ophthalmologists. Hobart Eye Surgeons now offers a comprehensive range of leading diagnostic technology and provides ethical and professional medical and surgical ophthalmic care in purpose fitted new rooms with patient comfort and consideration in mind.

Paul has had broad clinical interests including glaucoma, oculo-plastics and cataract surgery. More recently he has focussed his interest on advancements in cataract, corneal & refractive surgery. Paul is involved in lecturing and demonstrating surgical and optical advancement in optimising cataract surgery outcomes to other ophthalmologists in the Asia Pacific region. His teaching role has allowed him to work with ophthalmologists in Malaysia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, the Phillipines and throughout Australia.

Paul's research interests include advancements in toric and specialised intraocular lens use in cataract surgery and the genetics of glaucoma. He is also an investigator in the Posurdex study looking into the treatment of diabetic macular oedema. Paul has a long involvement in providing eye services to needy communities and has worked as a volunteer ophthalmologist in communities in the Torres Strait Islands and Fiji and more recently has been a part of the East Timor Eye programme since 2003, treating local people and assisting in training local ophthalmologists.