The Sunday News
Tendai Bhebe, Sunday News Reporter
MORE than 7 000 children have been treated at the Paediatric Eye Unit at United Bulawayo Hospitals (UBH) complex since the centre was opened in 2016, an official has said.
UBH chief executive officer Mrs Nonhlanhla Ndlovu told Sunday News that since the eye care unit was opened it has managed to cater for eye-care needs of children, helping especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds.
“Since we opened, the hospital has managed to treat a lot of children, about 7 872 children have come for treatment since it was opened in 2016,” she said.
“The paediatric cataract extraction rate has increased, squint surgery has increased, the screening and refraction of children has increased from 200 to 400 plus a month. We have linked with the American Academy of Ophthalmology through Dr Steve Beaty, we do phaco-emulsification of the cataract (aspiration of the lens), we now perform laser treatment and we have started Ophthalmic Training for Nurses since January 2015.”
Mrs Ndlovu said that however, the centre was facing shortages of materials while space was also limited.
“There is overwhelming response in the number of children presenting to the unit, human resource limitation, currently we have one ophthalmologist, we have shortage of material resources like sutures for the squint surgery, and we have space limitations. Admitted children are admitted with adults in the same ward, increasing workload for the staff,” she said.
Five percent of eye cataract patients in Zimbabwe are children, although this is an adult disease that is rarely found in children.
Mrs Ndlovu also said a number of measures had been put in place to encourage children with the disease to come for medication.
“We have a schools programme where screening is done, we have liaised with the City Health Department to screen in their clinics. We do outreach programmes in the southern region, like Beitbridge, Midlands, Masvingo, and Plumtree,” Mrs Ndlovu said.
