BINTULU: Awareness campaigns on the importance of eye care and the dangers of cataracts need to be extended to rural areas.
Bintulu MP Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing said this would also make it easier for the community in the affected area to get treatment without having to go to the city.
He said that he intended to adopt an educational approach to make the people aware of the value of maintaining one’s health, in this instance, eye health.
“I also understand from Bintulu Hospital deputy director Dr Dayang Suhaila Abang Mohamed, that the hospital is experiencing a scarcity of equipment for treating cataracts.
“I requested that the hospital provide a list of the required equipment,” he said while officiating at the Bintulu Cataract Carnival in the lobby of the Bintulu Hospital.
“I will do my best to get the equipment because the eyes are the most important thing to me,” he said.
He is also ready to help by donating a special vehicle next year to meet the purpose promoting eye care.
“I’ll try my hardest to support the hospital. Sometimes, despite having money, people are unable to travel to the city for medical care because of infrastructure issues.”
Since there is now only one ophthalmologist at Bintulu Hospital, Tiong, who also serves as the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy to China, also promised to extend the application for a second ophthalmologist to the Ministry of Health (MOH).
Meanwhile, 32 patients from Bintulu and Mukah, including Dalat, who cannot afford it and live in the rural areas, will receive free cataract surgery.
The Bintulu Cataract Carnival initiative seeks, among other things, to lessen the backlog of cases brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic and to raise community awareness on personal health, particularly eye health.
