Developing Health Post Incharge for Eye Health
As defined by WHO primary health care (PHC) is essential health care and provision of treatment for common or endemic diseases which should be available at the community level. But due to many reasons such as non-availability of essential eye medicine, limited knowledge and skill of community health worker in treating eye diseases, lack of diagnostic equipment for ophthalmic examination, primary eye care (PEC) is often not properly carried out at community level. In addition to it, most of the time the eye care is not a priority of health worker working at community. It is often considered as specialized service and very little eye care is provided at this level. Due to this reason many persons with curable (preventable and treatable) eye conditions need to travel all the way to tertiary level or they are forced to remain as blind. This contributes a significant financial burden both for seeking service and those who remain blind in the community.
Therefore, strengthening the knowledge and skill of health personnel in primary eye care and provision of essential equipment and can enable community to receive services at their door step. Early detection of blinding and potentially blinding conditions and dissemination of eye health education at this level can play a vital role in prevention of many peopel becoming incurably blind. PEC training for health worker and making provision of basic eye medicine and equipment at health post level is an important aspect that needs to be addressed whilel integrating PEC in to PHC. Therefore SCEH provided three days primary eye health training to 13 Health Post Incharge to Saptary district.
