After a hiatus over five years, the National Ophthalmology Hospital, located at Port Mourant, has restarted cataract surgeries.
The Ministry of Health invested over $90 million to procure needed equipment while additional funds were spent on rehabilitating the facility, which has three operating theatres and four wards.
Medical Director of the hospital Dr Vineshri Khirodhar told Sunday Stabroek that the cataract surgeries recommenced on February 13. “You guys would know that for the last five and a half years no cataract surgeries were being done at the National Ophthalmology Hospital… we have finally got into the stage where we have commenced surgeries and we have been doing surgeries for the last five days,” Khirodhar, who was appointed last year, said.
She noted, that the Minister of Health Dr Frank Anthony, Director General of the Ministry of Health Dr Vishwa Mahadeo, and the Regional Executive Officer of Region Six Narindra Persaud “all came on board because everybody has realized the need for cataract surgery within the population.”
She pointed out that cataract surgery at a private institution is estimated to cost around $400,000 and so the service being offered free at the government facility is expected to benefit Guyanese tremendously.
According to Khirodhar, the hospital is working to clear a backlog of 2,800 patients, which grew over the last five years and includes persons throughout the country and even from neighbouring Suriname. However, she said that in addition to the list they are also tending to “walk-in” patients, which also includes some patients from Suriname.
Khirodhar said that she is hopeful that the facility will complete a total of 3,000 cataract surgeries by the end of 2022, a target she has set for her team. “So now, everybody in the country, doesn’t matter which region you come from, can have access to cataract surgeries again,” she added.
The hospital is currently carrying out ten surgeries per day and had completed 29 surgeries as of Friday, this newspaper was told.
Given the current pandemic, Dr Khirodhar stressed that there is a rigorous screening system in place and added that persons who are diabetic, hypertensive, or may have cardiac ailments are also required to undergo extensive screening. However, once cleared they are given a date within three days to have their respective surgeries done.
Due to the eager response to the resumption of the surgeries, the theatre is already booked until March 10.
Presently at the facility there are four theatre nurses, five ophthalmologists, inclusive of a surgeon, a clinical ophthalmologist, a retina specialist, and a neuro-ophthalmologist. Further, there is also a biomedical technician and a lab technician attached to the hospital itself.
Khirodhar is hoping to increase the size of the hospital’s staff in order to undertake surgeries in the evenings.
Further, she pointed out that the hospital, which has four wards with five beds each, is also equipped to house patients traveling from afar overnight following their surgeries.
One patient, Vasco Jardeen, who was at the location on Friday, explained that seven years ago he underwent surgery to remove cataracts from one eye. He said he was extremely sad that he had to wait seven years to have surgery done on his other eye.
“Nothing was done. It [hospital] was closed but now that this government take over they start the hospital going again so now I scheduled to have my eyes done,” he said.
According to the 73-year-old Jardeen, who resides in Crabwood Creek, Upper Corentyne, over the last seven years, he was extremely frustrated while waiting. He noted that he was tempted to head to Georgetown to have the surgery done but since the hospital had done such a good job for his first surgery he opted to wait.
In 2021, the hospital did a total of 1,011 minor surgeries and 660 major surgeries. While the hospital itself did not carry out any cataract surgeries in 2021, there was a visiting team that did about 16 cataract surgeries that year.
