Tamil Nadu   

Stress laid on hygiene at eye camps

— Photo:C. Venkatachalapathy

Health Minister M.R.K. Panneerselvam looking at an eye testing equipment at DR.Agarwal Eye hospital in Panruti.

PANRUTI: Health Minister M.R.K. Panneerselvam has called upon organisers of free eye camps to take all steps to ensure hygiene and proper sterilisation of surgical instruments.

He made this observation at the inauguration of Dr. Agarwal’s Eye Hospital here on Thursday.

Mr. Panneerselvam recalled that in a recent incident at Kallakurichi, 40 persons lost their vision owing to lapses in handling surgical instruments.

The government had to take stringent action against the hospital concerned.

Under the ‘Palli Sirar Kannoli Padhukappu Thittam,’ Rs. 5.32 crore had been allotted to correct vision problems of students studying from Standard VI to VIII. About four lakh children would benefit, Mr. Panneerselvam said.

Many students do not realise they have vision problems.

As they are unable to clearly see what is written on the blackboard, they are unable to follow the lessons and, therefore, do not perform well in studies, he said.

For over 50 years, the Dr. Agarwal Eye Hospital has been serving in the field of eye care and now it was taking its services to the rural areas, Mr. Panneerselvam said.

The Panruti hospital is a boon to residents as they no longer need to go to Chennai or other places for eye care, Mr. Panneerselvam said.

Chief Minister M. Karuananidhi would soon launch a medical insurance scheme to cover people living below the poverty line. Government eye hospitals across the State were also being expanded and refurbished, Mr. Panneerselvam added.

Dr. Agarwal said the hospital had set up 29 centres. It planned another 21 centres, thus taking the total number of branches to 50 by 2010.

Once this is accomplished, the number of persons being screened would go up from 3,000 a day to 5,000 a day. The hospital was performing 1,000 free cataract surgeries a month, Dr. Agarwal said.

Panruti Municipal Chairman M. Pachaiappan and vice-chairman K. Kothandapani also participated.

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