MAJOR BOOST FOR EYE CARE SERVICES IN THE NORTH (PAGE 23, JULY 11, 2011)

THE provision of eye care services in the three northern regions is to receive a major boost as the Tamale Teaching Hospital (TTH) prepares to take delivery of state of the art medical equipment.
The equipment would enable the hospital to perform major eye surgical operations that include cornea transplant and laser treatment for diabetic patients with severe retinal diseases.
In addition, a tissue bank and an optical laboratory would also be established at the eye unit to enable the unit produce eye glasses and make them available to patients at affordable prices.
This has come as welcoming news to the management of the hospital, who believe that such upgrading would transform the TTH into a centre for comprehensive medical care, training and research.
The ophthalmologist in charge of the TTH Eye Clinic, Dr Seth Wanye, told the Daily Graphic that the equipment would be provided by the Lions Eye Centre and the University of Louisville, both in Louisville, Kentucky, in the United States.
He said the hospital was very excited at this kind gesture and was full of appreciation to the two institutions for their endeavour.
The assistance to the TTH has been made possible by the flourishing sister-city relationship that has existed between Tamale and Louisville.
Dr Wanye explained that at the moment, the eye clinic undertakes screening and surgical operations on conditions ranging from cataract to glaucoma.
He said patients with conditions that require laser treatment or cornea transplant are referred to either Korle-Bu or Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospitals.
He mentioned that in 2005, the Swiss Red Cross provided some support to the clinic, including the provision of equipment such as operating microscopes, slit lamps, surgical instruments and visual field machines.
“It also gave us a van and due to this support, the eye clinic began to function properly and we commenced community outreaches,” he noted.
Meanwhile, a visiting delegation from Louisville would be in the hospital on Monday to demonstrate their willingness to support the hospital.
They would bring along a portable laser machine and a donor tissue and join doctors at the eye clinic to perform a cornea transplant and also, a laser treatment for a patient with a proliferative diabetic retinopathy.
The team would also give a lecture on modern techniques in cornea transplant.
Dr Wanye noted that a patient who needed cornea transplant was one whose cornea was malfunctioning and thus did not permit light to penetrate into the retina and this made the person with the condition unable to see.
“After the transplant, the person gets a cornea that functions properly and this allows the retina to also function,” he stated.