Second national diabetic eye care centre established in Enmore

Nov 02, 2020 News

Kaieteur News – With a population of about 750,000, Guyana has an estimated diabetes prevalence of 11 percent which is above the average of other South American countries and similar to the high levels in the Caribbean.

Director of the Guyana Diabetic Retinopathy Programme, Dr. Shailendra Sugrim

According to the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), of that number, an estimated 18,630 Guyanese suffer from diabetic eye disease (DED), with nearly 5000 having their sight threatened.
What is most pressing is that the diabetes eye complications, called Diabetic Retinopathy (DR), is a leading cause of permanent blindness worldwide. Nearly one in six patients seen in the Eye Care Department of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) in 2016 being diabetic, the local healthcare sector joined forces with its international partners to facilitate a project which cater for persons with DR.
In August, the second Diabetic Eye Centre (DEC) was established at Enmore, kick started under a World Diabetes Foundation (WDF) funded initiative geared towards offering a multi-faceted diabetic healthcare system. Under the name Guyana Diabetes Care Project (GDCP) the project will focus on expanding care through the establishment of Diabetic Eye Centres (DEC). This component of the project is heavily supported by the University of Toronto, Orbis International and Department of Ophthalmology of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).
According to Clinical Director of the Guyana Diabetic Retinopathy Programme, Dr. Shailendra Sugrim, the facility at the Polyclinic Clinic located at Estate Road, Enmore, East Coast Demerara will help give more people access to the service.
“The Diabetic Eye Centres,” he said, “are intended to be easily accessible to the general public and will provide free diabetic eye screening along with general eye screening to identify other sorts of eye conditions such as cataract and glaucoma.”
He disclosed that a site for a third DEC is being discussed with the Ministry of Health in the country’s second most populous region – Corentyne, East Berbice. “With two functional DECs in the Demerara-Mahaica region, the addition of the East Berbice Corentyne Region will increase the catchment area to cover over 56 percent of the total national population,” he explained.
Added to this, the eye care professional stressed that early detection of the disease allows for the opportunity to initiate treatment to prevent blindness from diabetes.
“These centres are run by locally trained optometrists who have undergone specialized training in Diabetic Eye Screening and Grading via the use of retinal photography. The use of retinal photography is the current worldwide standard for early detection of diabetic retinopathy,” Dr. Sugrim added.

The second Diabetic Eye Centre established at Estate Road, Enmore.

He said that, “One major strength of the programme, is the concentration of prevention of complications of diabetes through promotion of good nutritional habits.”
“This has resulted in close collaboration with the staff of the GPHC Nutrition Centre that assists patients to manage their diabetes through health nutritional practices. The nutritionists have also been involved in training the optometrists and also eye care professionals on the importance of counselling patients about their diet,” added Dr. Sugrim.
He emphasized that despite limitations imposed by the pandemic, efforts will continue to strengthen ties with existing providers of diabetic eye care. In 2015, GPHC (the national referral hospital in Guyana) became the pilot site of a newly-established Diabetic Retinopathy Screening and Laser Centre. The DEC provided, for the first time in the public system, free laser treatment to the general public for diabetic eye disease.
Back then, the International Council of Ophthalmology Protocols for Diabetic Eye Screening were adapted and used in establishing a formal screening and referral system in Guyana. Additionally, considerable resources were provided by Orbis International in training a number of eye health professionals and other technicians that aided in the implementation of the project.
This has led to increased capacity of the eye care clinic staff of the Department of Ophthalmology to screen and treat diabetic eye disease, thanks to investments in equipment and clinical training, and improved patient flow and management systems. Categories of staff that were trained include ophthalmologists, optometrists, nurses, general physicians and biomedical technicians. Additionally, awareness and health promotion materials have been designed, to increase public awareness and drive community demand for eye care.

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