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An operation for over-50 patient in Binh Dinh Eye Hospital. Photo T.H |
Binh Dinh is one of provinces having the highest number of over-50 blind people nationwide. The treatment capacity as well as the information to enhance the community’s awareness of eye care hasn’t been, however, focused.
* Challenges and obstacles
At present, the blindness of over-50 people is a big challenge in the community. The rate of infectious disease-related blindness has considerably reduced, but the blindness caused by other diseases has ever increased.
In 2007, Binh Dinh Eye Hospital carried out the investigation of over-50 blind people and the community’s obstacle in 30 communes in Binh Dinh.
The result showed the rate of over-50 patients who are blind in two eyes reduced from 7.33 percent (in 2002) to 5.76 percent.
It also showed five obstacles affecting the blindness prevention. The community’s awareness about eye-related diseases needs raising. Most people only go to hospital when they went blind in both eyes.
The distance is another challenge for those who live in mountainous and remote areas. Currently, hospital fees have become a burden on patients because the administrative procedure for health insurance is still problematic.
The shortage of medical staff is also causing difficulties for eye treatment in the community. There are only 26 ophthalmologists in Binh Dinh. This means that one ophthalmologist is for 60,000 people. Medical equipment and services for the eye care need to be invested.
* For fully eye care
Such above mentioned obstacles lowered the success of operations for old people. “90 percent of operations is successful; meanwhile 10 percent has no result,” said doctor Nguyen Thanh Triet.
That figure was under the national standards. Binh Dinh would only got 50 percent of success if follow the international standards, he added.
At present, the blindness caused by trachoma and cataract has been eliminated since 1990, according to Triet.
The blindness is a challenge for not only medical staff but the socio-economic development. It’s necessary, therefore, to have long-term strategies to reduce the rate of blindness by focusing on main diseases causing blindness.
Binh Dinh Eye Hospital has built a plan for eye treatment in the 2009-2012 period. The plan also aims to reduce the rate of cataract caused blindness of over-50 people.
It requires many measures, including a perfect blind prevention and eye care system, medical staff’s qualification improvement, and the medical equipment and infrastructure upgrade.
The information to raise the community’s awareness about diseases causing blindness must be provided for people to gain the support.
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