The Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) is looking to improve its care to diabetic patients with the launch of the three-year Guyana Retinopathy Programme later this month.
Diabetic retinopathy is damage to the blood vessels in the retina caused by complications with diabetes and according to a release from the GPHC the programme is expected to be launched in about two weeks.
The initiative, which is a component of the Guyana Diabetes Care Project, will see the hospital introducing retinopathy screening and laser treatment for diabetic patients. Further, the GPHC asserted that it will be “the first of its kind in the public system.”
The release said the programme is expected to last for three years but further planning to extend it will be considered based upon its initial success.
The GPHC also revealed that screening and laser centres will be established in the hospital to allow better accessibility to all diabetic patients.
“This is a pioneering project as it will be the first time that the public system will be offering laser treatment for diabetic retinopathy,” Dr Shailendra Sugrim, Clinical Coordinator of the Guyana Diabetes Pro-gramme, said.
Sugrim further said that official screening and treatment will commence by mid-year while project details including equipment procurement and human resource training are yet to be completed.
Sugrim opined that there are about 19,000 diabetic patients in Guyana who suffer from diabetic retinopathy. Furthermore, he said, about 5,000 of these persons have sight-threatening diseases that require treatment.
The GPHC emphasised the importance of early screening of all patients with diabetes and noted that treatment could prevent further damage or blindness.
The project is being funded primarily from the World Diabetes Foundation and Orbis International with local support from the GPHC and the Ministry of Health.
