Shorter wait for eye patients in Sabah
KOTA KINABALU: Patients in Sabah will not have to wait as long as those in Peninsula Malaysia for treatments related to preventable blindness diseases.
“The waiting list here is better than West Malaysia where patients may have to wait up to six months to get treatment,” said Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) Director Dr Heric Coray after officiating at the Prevention of Avoidable Blindness Campaign held in conjunction with World Sight Day yesterday.
“With the opening of the new QEH 1, the average waiting period to get treatment in Sabah would average around three months.
“There are 17 operating theatres in the new building and we have more beds, which means we could admit more patients,” he added.
Head and Senior Consultant of Opthalmology QEH Dr Sheena Alexander told the press, “Average waiting period for patients suffering from cataract would be three months but could be sooner depending on the urgency and the extremity of the situation.
“Patients suffering from glaucoma would probably be seen within two to three months but it also depends on where they are diagnosed and for diabetic retinopathy average waiting period would be two months,” said Dr Sheena who again reiterated that the timeline would vary according to the severity level of each case.
However, not all eye conditions can be healed.
“It all depends on the severity of the eye condition. Loss of sight could be prevented with early detection and treatment.
“A lot of diseases like glaucoma and retinal detachment sometimes can go undiagnosed for a long time. If it’s not diagnosed early then the probability of saving the person’s vision could be too late.
“So in order to prevent it, we want to diagnose it. Before development of symptoms that would decrease a person’s vision we want to treat this kind of conditions early,” said Dr Sheena.
“This is why we organize such a campaign with Lions Club of Kota Kinabalu, our major supporter in this endeavour to get patients here for eye screening in order to raise awareness to prevent blindness.
“Such an exercise will help identify eye diseases early to ensure that the public get early diagnosis and treatment if necessary,” she added.
“We are targeting at least 100 – 200 people to come for screening today but we would be happy to have more traffic here today,” stated Dr Sheena.
According to Dr Sheena, a survey is currently being conducted by the National Eye Survey to update the 10 – 20 year old records.
“We have to wait for the results from them. Previously, blindness stemming from lack of healthcare would be a lot.
“I do not have the exact figures of the last survey done but because of the availability of healthcare today it should have decreased.
“The Sabah Society for the blind is very concerned with the yearly increase of blindness in Sabah,” said Sabah Society for the Blind President Datuk Rosalind Chiew.
“Such a program, which raises awareness for the public to look after their eyes, is very meaningful to us and organizers, Lions Club of Kota Kinabalu and QEH,” added Chiew about the campaign that offers free eye check-up and advice to the public.
Earlier i n his speech, Dr Heric said the Opthalmology Department offers various eye related services to inpatients and outpatients such as laser surgery for cataract.
According to him, Sabah Mission for Vision mobile unit to overcome these eye conditions have also been implemented since 2002.
The campaign, which was held in observance of World Sight Day, aims to change the perception of the public.
“Eye care is very important and it is not part of the body or organ that can be taken care of that easily,” said Dr Heric.
According to him, World Health Organization (WHO) statistics show an estimated 285 million people have complications with their sight or are blind in the world. Thirty nine million are blind and 246 million have compromised or severe eye vision.
Ninety per cent out of the number of blind people are found in lower-income countries and 80% have preventable or treatable eye conditions.
“The good news is that the number of blindness caused by infections have gone down since 20 years ago,” said Dr Heric.