Eye care services, prosthesis, hearing aids for Region Two residents

The Health Ministry in an attempt to unburden the problems faced by some residents in Region
Two, due to the lack of eye care services, prosthesis and hearing aids, they have decided to make
these services accessible in the region by the end of this year.
Health Minister, Dr. Frank Anthony, at a recent visit to the region, listened to concerns raised by
healthcare workers. One of those was the need for an ophthalmology department. Dr. Anthony
gave the assurance that his ministry will work towards getting an eye surgeon or eye specialist to
conduct surgeries and provide eye care services there. He promised in the meantime, patients can
have access to services at the National Ophthalmology Hospital, in Berbice or at the Georgetown
Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).

“We have a hospital up at Port Mourant that deals specifically with ophthalmology [and] that
was down for a while, everything was broken up. Last year we spent more than I would say $150
million buying equipment just to re-equip the place… so while we work to maybe get you
somebody to come here, if they are patients that you have some of those people can come up to
Berbice or we can get them sorted at Georgetown Hospital,” Dr. Anthony said. The minister told
the healthcare workers to identify and provide a list of persons needing eye surgery so that the
ministry can make arrangements for them to get their surgeries done.
Further, the health minister noted that eye testing kits will also be rolled out especially in rural
areas where persons are unable to access these services. Meanwhile, in terms of prosthesis and
hearing aids, the minister said the Government is working towards making these services less
costly and ensuring persons live a better life.
“We are planning, at the government level, we are going to try to do more prosthesis, help more
people so that they can become mobile. Similarly, you might have a lot of people here that would
need hearing aid…this year we are buying, so again you have patients, let us know and we’ll be
able to help some of them,” Minister Anthony declared.