KUCHING:
Rural communities are urged to take advantage of the free eye healthcare
programme for cataract organised by the Ophthalmology and Optometry Services
under the Ministry of Health Malaysia.
In Sarawak,
the programme is supported and run by the Ophthalmology Department of Sarawak
General Hospital (SGH).
Deputy Chief
Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas said he has been working with Lions
Club of Kuching Metro (LCKM) and the Ministry of Health Cataract Clinic Sarawak
since 2013 to ensure the rural community in Betong facing cataract problems
received necessary treatments.
“I must
thank them for the programme. To date, they have treated over 4,000 patients
across Sarawak, and in Betong alone 572 patients have benefited from the
programme.
“The rural
population with cataract problems have free facilities provided by experienced
eye specialists providing them screening and eye cataract surgery,” he told
reporters after receiving a courtesy call from LCKM at his office in Wisma Bapa
Malaysia here yesterday.
Uggah who is
also Bukit Saban assemblyman hoped those in the interior especially Betong area
and the needy who has any eye related problems can go to the nearest clinics or
hospitals to receive the treatments provided under the programme.
According to
LCKM sight preservation awareness and action coordinator Andrew Chioh, for
Betong division, Uggah has been sponsoring the quality Intraocular lenses costing
RM500 to RM1,000 each.
“DCM (deputy
chief minister) is very supportive of this. Not only Betong division, those
from Skrang, Sri Aman, Lubok Antu and Pusa have also benefited from it,” he
said.
Meanwhile,
Ministry of Health Cataract Clinic Sarawak head of Ophthalmology Service Dr
Chieng Lee Ling said most of the eye related diseases recorded in Sarawak are
cataract problems and the main factors are caused by old age.
Earlier,
Uggah donated a unit of slit lamp machine costing RM20,000 to the Ministry of
Health Cataract Clinic Sarawak for its mobile eye health care service.
Since 2013
till August this year, a total of 20,242 eye patients in Sarawak have been
screened. 4,375 of the patients have undergone cataract surgery and 888 underwent
the pterygium surgery.
Meanwhile, the
preliminary eye screening programme for Betong division has been scheduled on
Feb 3 to 7 next year and June 22 to 26, followed by cataracts and
pterygium operations from Feb 21 to 23 and July 3 to 5 respectively.
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