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The Statesman
Bhabendra Haloi was born deaf and dumb. Now the 55-year-old daily wage labourer from Rampur in the Nalbari district of Assam is also blind thanks to a post-operative infection that developed after he underwent an eye operation at a government camp at the Regional Institute of Ophthalmology (RIO) in Guwahati.
Mr Haloi is one of 14 people who have lost their sight as a result of the infection. According to Assam health minister Mr Sharma a total of 35 patients contracted severe post-operative infections out of 1,600 patients treated in the eye camp last month.
Mr Haloi was persuaded to attended the camp by his neighbours and friends who were concerned about his repeated complaints of rapidly reducing power in both eyes. On 13 September he had cataracts removed but subsequently caught a severe post operative infection along with around 30 other patients.
Although the Assam government sent him to Chennai for specialist treatment, he returned yesterday with his infected eye removed. He has almost no sight in his other eye and came off the plane at Guwahati airport, where he was returning after the government-sponsored trip to Shankara Nethralaya in Chennaim with a few other patients, leaning on a fellow passenger for support.
As a result of the infection, patients have stopped going to the RIO.
Dr Sharma said yesterday there had not been enough patients at the RIO to carry out operations. Yesterday there was not a single patient at the hospital.
The Opposition parties have called for his resignation over the eye infection incident but Dr Sharma today vowed to turn around the RIO within a year with a combination of Rs 10 crore Central funding and Rs one crore state government funding.
He said the state government would compensate anyone who has become blind as a result of the post-operative infection in the RIO camp on the basis of a report being conducted by three senior eye surgeons from the state.
Dr Sharma said the state government would take action against any doctor found guilty of negligence as a result of the enquiry committee report.
Under the National Blindness Prevention drive, the Central government set a target of 8,000 cataract operations target to be carried out by the RIO this year. Last year the institute carried out 3,000 such operations. “Eight thousand cataract operation a year shouldn’t be a challenging target for the RIO as it has 23 surgeons,” the health minister said, dismissing media report that it was a very stiff target. Meanwhile, the Assam government is preparing to resume its cataract operation drive at the RIO next month despite the recent infection.
Bhabendra Haloi was born deaf and dumb. Now the 55-year-old daily wage labourer from Rampur in the Nalbari district of Assam is also blind thanks to a post-operative infection that developed after he underwent an eye operation at a government camp at the Regional Institute of Ophthalmology (RIO) in Guwahati.
Mr Haloi is one of 14 people who have lost their sight as a result of the infection. According to Assam health minister Mr Sharma a total of 35 patients contracted severe post-operative infections out of 1,600 patients treated in the eye camp last month.
Mr Haloi was persuaded to attended the camp by his neighbours and friends who were concerned about his repeated complaints of rapidly reducing power in both eyes. On 13 September he had cataracts removed but subsequently caught a severe post operative infection along with around 30 other patients.
Although the Assam government sent him to Chennai for specialist treatment, he returned yesterday with his infected eye removed. He has almost no sight in his other eye and came off the plane at Guwahati airport, where he was returning after the government-sponsored trip to Shankara Nethralaya in Chennaim with a few other patients, leaning on a fellow passenger for support.
As a result of the infection, patients have stopped going to the RIO.
Dr Sharma said yesterday there had not been enough patients at the RIO to carry out operations. Yesterday there was not a single patient at the hospital.
The Opposition parties have called for his resignation over the eye infection incident but Dr Sharma today vowed to turn around the RIO within a year with a combination of Rs 10 crore Central funding and Rs one crore state government funding.
He said the state government would compensate anyone who has become blind as a result of the post-operative infection in the RIO camp on the basis of a report being conducted by three senior eye surgeons from the state.
Dr Sharma said the state government would take action against any doctor found guilty of negligence as a result of the enquiry committee report.
Under the National Blindness Prevention drive, the Central government set a target of 8,000 cataract operations target to be carried out by the RIO this year. Last year the institute carried out 3,000 such operations. “Eight thousand cataract operation a year shouldn’t be a challenging target for the RIO as it has 23 surgeons,” the health minister said, dismissing media report that it was a very stiff target. Meanwhile, the Assam government is preparing to resume its cataract operation drive at the RIO next month despite the recent infection.