As World Diabetes Day 2016 is observed today under the theme “Eyes on Diabetes”, Minister within the Public Health Ministry, Dr Karen Cummings announced that a week of activities was scheduled, with special focus on eye care for patients with diabetes.
The junior Minister stated that the Public Health Ministry was working closely with the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) to observe World Diabetes Day and to bring awareness about the disease.
Junior Health Minister, Dr Karen Cummings
The year’s activities and materials will focus on promoting the importance of screening to ensure early diagnosis of Type 2 Diabetes and treatment to reduce the risk of serious complications. The annual event is coordinated by the International Diabetes Federation.
The Public Health Ministry and the GPHC have been collaborating with the World Diabetes Foundation, University of Toronto and Orbis International in the establishment of the Guyana Diabetic Retinopathy Programme.
The Guyana Diabetic Retinopathy Programme will introduce for the first time in Guyana easy access for all diabetics to have their eyes screened for diabetic eye complications. Usually, diabetics begin to have changes in their eyes and are not aware of these changes. The only method of detecting these changes in the past was an annual eye examination by an ophthalmologist.
The GPHC will now be introducing a modern method of detecting eye complications. That is to have digital retinal photos taken of the inside of the eye. These photos will then be read by highly trained eye-care professionals who will then grade the stage of retinopathy.
This programme is also being developed to offer laser treatment to patients. Over the past two years, this project has been developed and put into place at the GPHC’s Eye Clinic and is being led by the Head of the Ophthalmology Department, Dr Shailendra Sugrim.
The main donor is the World Diabetes Foundation, which helped to procure expensive retinal cameras, ophthalmological examination instruments and also for the first time in the public system, a retinal laser to treat patients who have severe diabetic eye complications.
