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.
