St. John’s, Antigua: Sixty- nine residents and members of staff at the Fiennes Institute benefitted from an Optometry Clinic hosted by the Caribbean Council for the Blind/Eye Care Caribbean, in partnership with the Government of Antigua and Barbuda.
The two-day Clinic held on August 22nd and 23rd was led by Dr. Genalin Ang, a Senior Lecturer in Optometry at the University of Guyana and three of her second-year Optometry Students.
At the end of the Clinic, it was found that of the number examined, forty-five are in need of spectacles and ten would require the use of low vision devices.
Concerning conditions requiring medical or surgical intervention, thirteen persons had Cataracts; there was one case of Glaucoma; three were found to have Pterygium; there were two cases of Conjunctivitis; four suffered from Corneal Opacity and there were three cases of blindness.
“The fact that more than 75% of the 69 persons examined at the Fiennes Institute have serious eye conditions, requiring treatment is an indication of the scope of the problem in Antigua and Barbuda. That is why CCB-Eye Care Caribbean is determined to find every means possible to ensure that persons, who cannot afford to purchase eye health services at commercial rates, can get eye care any way. We know that will lead to significant increases in the number of persons being referred for medical and surgical interventions to manage or correct a range of eye diseases. That is why we are partnering with Government, to establish quality eye health services at all levels of the Public Health Sector,” said Arvel Grant, CEO of CCB/Eye Care Caribbean.
The next phase of this initiative at the Fiennes Institute, includes the handing over of spectacles and low vision devices to those who were examined, and the provision of medical and surgical services where necessary. CCB-Eye Care Caribbean aims to establish a nation-wide eye health service for the poor and “near-poor,” by the middle of 2012.
The Fiennes Institute is the Government-run Home for the Aged, located in the capital, St. John’s.
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