The Federal Neuro-psychiatric Hospital Yaba has partnered with Gift Health Plus INC., to offer free eye care services, to reduce blindness and improve vision for underserved Yaba community in Lagos State.
Speaking at the event, the Medical Director of the hospital, Dr Olugbenga Owoeye, said the initiative was part of the hospital’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), aimed at giving back to the community where it operated.
Owoeye reiterated that the initiative, which had become an annual event, provided Yaba residents, including staff of the hospital and patients, with free eye tests, recommended eye glasses and treatment for various eye ailments.
According to him, the hospital in conjunction with Gift Health Plus Incorporated, put resources together to provide the services.
He, therefore, encouraged staff of the hospital, its patients and Yaba community, to seize the opportunity to check their eye health.
He said that those identified with defects that could not be handled there, would be referred to their sister hospitals for further treatment. “We observed that a lot of people find it difficult to read and they cannot afford medicated glasses. So, because of transportation costs, some cannot even travel from their homes to hospitals where they can access care”.
“In the course of our occupational therapy building in the hospital, our patients are into various arts and crafts.
“Some that are into tailoring cannot put needles into the machine. Some are into computer and they cannot read on it because of sight issues. As a result of this, we decide to put this outreach to assist them in caring for their eyes because prevention is far better and cheaper than cure,” Owoeye said.
Speaking, the Deputy Director Nursing Services of the hospital, Mrs Alonge Kehinde, said the idea was to reduce the number of visually impaired people in the community.
Kehinde, also the Head of Department, Nursing, described the initiative as a laudable gesture that benefited not only the patients and staff of the hospital, but the entire Yaba community.
She advised that people should take advantage of the opportunity. “Many people are just walking, they don’t know the quality of the eyes they have.
“We have so many people with cataract, glaucoma and other eye defects, some can’t read without glasses. So, people should always explore this kind of opportunity once it comes, and even if it doesn’t come regularly, they should go to government hospitals that offer such services at less cost to access care.
The consulting Optometrist at the event, Dr Chukwuemeka Achimole, urged Nigerians to take their eye health very serious by going for routine check every year.
Achimole, who described the eye as the window to the body, advised that anyone who had issues with the eye should visit a health facility where the eye would be properly cared for, saying that the eye was a very delicate part of the body.
According to him, early detection is key.
He noted that many cases, if detected early, may be prevented from escalating to cataract or glaucoma.
“I’m here to screen patients to see if they have any pathological or refractive condition.
“If it’s a refractive condition, we’ll take care of their sight issues here, but if it’s a pathological issue that we cannot handle here, we refer them to the nearest hospital for further treatment. Talking about cataract and glaucoma, the cataract is more like an ageing factor causative, except that of traumatic cataract. Then for glaucoma, it’s something we cannot just discover or detect on the road like this.
CAPTION: Dr Olugbenga Owoeye undergoing eye check at a free eye care services organised by the Federal Neuro-psychiatric Hospital Yaba in conjunction with the Gift Health Plus on Monday in Lagos.
