Free eye tests at GPHC, among other activities to mark World Sight Day 2019

Oct 06, 2019 News

Under the theme: ‘Vision First – a call to nations to ensure that everyone has access to affordable eye care’, World Sight Day (WSD) will be observed on Thursday October 10, 2019.

Dr. Shailendra Sugrim screening a patient’s eye

WSD is an international day of awareness, held annually on the second Thursday of October to focus attention on the global issue of eye health.
It is coordinated by the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB). This annual observance became an official IAPB event in the year 2000, and has been marked in many different ways in countries around the world each year since then. It is a focal Advocacy and PR event for IAPB and its members and partners each year, highlighting the fact that 75 percent of blindness is avoidable (i.e. preventable and/or treatable). This therefore means that at least three out of four people have avoidable visual impairment. WSD provides a platform for organisations to encourage governments, corporations, institutions and individuals to actively support global blindness prevention efforts.
For the past six years, the GPHC Department of Ophthalmology has been spearheading World Sight Day activities in Guyana with various activities being done over the years to promote Vision Health Education and Awareness. This year, GPHC will continue to work along with local eye care professionals and organisations in a variety of activities.
Among these activities will be free eye screening at GPHC. According to Head of Ophthalmology at the premier public health hospital, Dr. Shailendra Sugrim, the GPHC will be hosting “free eye testing in its Eye Clinic from 10:00am to 2:00pm on World Sight Day. Patients will have free access to the clinic and can walk into the clinic to have their eyes tested for Glaucoma, Cataract, Refractive Errors, Diabetic Retinopathy and other eye diseases.”
Dr. Sugrim assured that the Diabetic Retinopathy Centre will be opened on that day.
The GPHC’s administration is working on constructing a billboard to encourage persons with diabetes to check their eyes for diabetic retinopathy since early screening prevents blindness from diabetes. Laser Treatment for Diabetic Retinopathy is also now available free of charge at GPHC and patients can prevent blindness by undergoing early screening, according to Dr. Sugrim.
Through collaboration with the World Diabetes Foundation and Orbis International, the Diabetic Eye Centre was established to allow persons with diabetes undergo free screening tests to detect early diabetic eye disease (diabetic retinopathy) before it proceeds to cause permanent blindness.
According to the Head of Ophthalmology, the Screening on WSD will be done by the staff of the Department of Ophthalmology including Ophthalmologists, Optometrists, doctors and nurses of the GPHC Eye Clinic. Screening, he said, will also be done at the Vision Centre, located in the GPHC’s compound and “The public is encouraged to attend this free screening session in an effort to prevent blindness.
The activities to commemorate the day will include free eye testing at the Mattai’s Supermarket on Water Street, Georgetown from 10:00am to 2:00pm. Dr. Sugrim said that a booth and screening area will be set up at the entrance of the supermarket where members of the public will have free access to have their eyes tested and this will also be done by staffers of the GPHC.
Local Optometrists and Optical Shops are also expected to be involved in eye screening activities at various locations in Georgetown and GPHC, Dr. Sugrim said, is also planning to collaborate with the Lions Club in conducting a free vision screening exercise. The University of Guyana School of Optometry also conducts various commemorative activities on campus on WSD.
Added to this, Dr. Sugrim said that GPHC Optometry interns will be conducting a Public Awareness Campaign by visiting various public establishments in Georgetown to distribute posters on Glaucoma and Diabetic Eye Health.
Another key activity to mark the day, Dr. Sugrim said, will be the hosting of a World Sight Ophthalmic Continuing Medical Education (CME) Session for Eye Care Professionals and Physicians. “This is an educational session where lectures are given on various eye diseases to update physicians in practice. This year GPHC is collaborating with Da Silva’s Optical, Modern Optical Service, Optique Vision Care and Orbis International to sponsor this event,” said Dr. Sugrim. The CME will be held on the evening of World Sight Day from 6:00pm to 8:00pm at Duke Lodge, Kingston, Georgetown.
But even before WSD, two GPHC staffers, an Ophthalmologist and an Optometrist, will be featured on the Weekly Kaieteur Radio Programme on October 7, 2019 at 1:05pm to discuss eye health and inform the public about the various activities to commemorate WSD.