The Punjab Health Department is working round-the-clock to ensure that there must not be any patient in the State suffering from blindness because of corneal disease in both eyes to make it ‘Corneal Blindness Backlog Free State’ by December 31.
“We aimed at making Punjab Corneal Blindness Backlog Free State by December 31, 2017,” said State Minister for Health and Family Welfare Brahm Mohindra on Monday.
Mohindra added that for the same, ‘Eye Donation Fortnight’ is being celebrated in all districts of the State and about 1,000 people have been pledged to donate their eyes till date.
The Health Department has also started a Statewide campaign in which a dedicated audio-visual awareness van visited in all major cities and towns to motivate the people to donate their eyes to make Punjab as ‘Corneal Blindness Backlog Free State’, he added.
The Minister said that soon the State Government will implement the road map concerning upgradation of the infrastructure of eye banks and capacity building of Ophthalmologists to achieve the target in a time bound manner.
Since March to June this year, about 341 corneas procured from the State and 212 corneal Transplant Surgeries (Keratoplasties) have successfully been conducted in registered Keratoplasty Centres.
He further said that awareness drive to prevent needless corneal blindness will be launched effectively along with other supportive measures by the health department. Still we are focusing on patients who are suffering from treatable ‘Bilateral Corneal Blindness’ and are willing to get operated, he added.
Special screening camps are being organised at district level to screen treatable corneal blind patients who are interested for surgery, said the Minister adding that these patients will be referred to nearest Cornea Transplant centres.
He said that Deputy Commissioners will be involved to identify the blind patients and facilitating eye donations by coordinating with all stakeholders. He said that as per record, there are about 135 cases waiting for surgery, registered with KP Centres.