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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\nAfter the surgery, a well-attached retina with Silicone oil in the eye<\/span><\/p>\n KOLKATA: A 35-year-old woman, whose husband lost his bus conductor\u2019s job in the lockdown, started losing vision in her right eye in March-end. She initially tried some over-the-counter eye drops bought from a local pharmacy near Alipurduar where she lives. As her vision kept worsening, she went to Alipurduar Lions Eye Hospital, where she was diagnosed with total retinal detachment in the right eye.
Three months later, she came to Siliguri\u2019s Retina Institute of Bengal, which specializes in laser surgery for diabetic retinopathy. The West Bengal government\u2019s Swasthya Saathi Scheme which provides for Rs 5 lakh health insurance for the poor turned out to be game changer.
The woman got admitted at the Retinal Institute of Bengal (RIB), where Somnath Chakraborty, a vitreo-retina surgeon and the key person behind the RIB, successfully operated upon on her three weeks back. Given their terrible economic situation, especially in the backdrop of the restrictions due to lockdowns, the Swasthya Saathi scheme and Dr Chakraborty\u2019s expertise saved her right eye. Dr Chakraborty, when contacted, stated that it really feels great to be a cog in the wheel to save these less fortunate people from lifelong blindness. \u201cHad it not been for the Swasthya Saathi scheme, the poor woman could not have got the operation done,\u201d Dr Chakraborty said, adding, \u201cPuran Kumar Sharma, as CMOH, Alipurduar, had facilitated the empanelment of the RIB under the West Bengal government\u2019s Swasthya Saathi scheme for management of the Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP), a congenital condition, seen in premature or low-weight newborns and in other conditions affecting the retina.\u201d
Sharma, who is now, director, Pasteur Institute, Kolkata, when contacted, said, \u201cThe sick newborn units (SNCUs) mostly attend to premature and low birth weight newborns, who are liable to have congenital disorders, can be treated if detected and managed within one month of birth.\u201d
Dr Sharma said, \u201cTill May 2020, 751 high risk newborns had been screened, 26 of them have been saved from lifelong blindness. We are grateful to the director of health services (DHS) Ajay Chakraborty and the Joint Secretary and Additional Sate Nodal Officer, Swasthya Saathi Scheme, Tushar Pathak, for facilitating the Swasthya Saathi empanelment process and screening of newborns with such eye issues. The Siliguri centre is a boon for the people of north Bengal, who no longer need to go to Kolkata or other cities in other states for such treatment of retinal conditions. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n