Hyderabad: The people affected by the botched up cataract surgeries at Warangal’s Jaya Hospital are unlikely to regain their vision as post-operative infections are disastrous and spread very fast.
A senior ophthalmologist on condition of anonymity explained, “Any infection due to bacteria or virus in the post-operative stage is very difficult to handle and for this reason precautionary steps and checks are insisted upon in advance. Eye is a very small part where the spread of infection is very fast due to its size. By the time the patient comes to the hospital, the maximum cases have 50 to 80 per cent spread. Controlling the spread is a task. Reversing the infection is not possible hence there are poor chances of regaining the vision.”
It’s not just in government hospitals that cataract surgeries go wrong. Says an eye doctor who does not want to be named: “The cases are also seen in private hospitals but there is no mechanism to record it. Private hospitals do not share their data. Apart from the external factors, the diabetic condition of the patient, underlying infection in the body are also some of the reasons for concern.”
The debate of whether it is the Centres National Programme for Control of Blindness scheme or the state government’s Kanti Velugu scheme, the implementation is to be done by the state government officials only.
A senior health official explained, “The staff carrying out the Kanti Velugu and NPCB is the same. It is the state government district control officers who are handling both schemes. Hence blaming one scheme or the other is merely a gimmick to mislead the people. It makes no difference.”
The state and Centre equally sponsor the NPCB scheme, but it is the state which takes care of implementation. To not get a bad name in an election year, the state government is using ways of diverting the blame. The fact is that whether it is the NPCB scheme or the Kanti Velugu scheme, the onus of successful surgeries lies with the state government.
