The Hindu : Efforts to make Chennai mature cataract-free zone

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Mar 01, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Tamil Nadu-Chennai

Efforts to make Chennai mature cataract-free zone

By Ramya Kannan

Chennai Feb. 28. In an effort to hasten the process of declaring Chennai a mature cataract-free zone, the Chennai District Blindness Control Society and the civic body have matched forces to conduct eye screening and surgery camps on a war-footing.

The programme was kicked off with the first camp being organised in the Corporation Zone-I Tondiarpet on Monday.

Nearly 500 patients were screened for various vision-related ailments, of which 20 were operated on for cataract at the Government Ophthalmic Hospital (GOH).

"We intend to cover the entire city and all its zones in a phased manner. The focus, however will be on the urban slums, and there are at least eight or nine in each zone," according to the Society's district programme manager (in charge), K. Asokan.

Camps would be held at regular intervals throughout the city, so that the entire `mature cataract' population would be covered eventually.

Some of the zones that would receive special attention were Basin Bridge, Triplicane, Vyasarpadi, Ayanavaram, Aminjikarai, Nungambakkam, Kodambakkam, Saidapet and Adyar.

The camps, in addition to screening patients, would also involve transporting those requiring surgery to the GOH and providing medicines to them in the post-operative stage, Dr. Asokan added.

The tasks of the Corporation involve spreading awareness about the camp in the respective zone.

The health infrastructure of the civic body, in addition to the services of zonal officers, along with the ophthalmic surgeons and paramedics from the GOH, will be utilised.

Each camp will be able to handle at least 500 patients (screening) and anywhere between 20-30 cataract surgeries with Intra Ocular Implants and spectacles provided free of cost. A six-member team of doctors will operate on the patients.

The cooperation of traders, local residents welfare associations, councillors and NGOs will be solicited and any monetary contributions will be used towards providing medicines and subsidising costs of operation, ophthalmologists say.

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