A Based Panchagarh Correspondent: Panchagarh’s Tentulia Patients are getting high-quality eye care for 3 taka at the Community Eye Center.
It is learned that as part of the establishment of 200 community eye centers across the country, the Ministry of Health allocated a community eye center only in Panchagarh’s Tentulia Health Complex in 2021. Later, two senior staff nurses of the hospital, Putul Khatun and Laboni Akhtar, were trained for 6 months at the National Institute of Ophthalmology Dhaka office. In 2023, after installing high-quality equipment for eye treatment at 50 bed Hospital in Tentulia Upazila, the activities of the Community Eye Center were launched. Since then, any common person in the upazila with any eye problem can come to the center and get high-quality eye treatment from a specialist doctor virtually by paying a ticket of 3 taka.
Senior staff nurses in charge of the eye center said that 15-20 patients come here every day with various eye problems. 1-day-old babies, teenagers, adults and the elderly come here for treatment of eye itching, sun reading, redness, watering, cornea and power lens. After listening to the patient’s problem through the equipment, we send the report to the specialist doctor. The doctor himself also knows the problems virtually through the patient’s face and then provides eye treatment advice.
Nazira from Goabari village of Ranchondi, who got treatment at the eye center, said, “My 10-month-old baby used to have watery eyes. After coming here and paying a ticket of 3 taka digitally and seeing a big doctor in Rangpur, it got better. Today, I myself came to get eye treatment.
Rezaul from Mominpara village of Tentulia said, “I heard that advanced eye equipment is used here for examination and diagnosis; that’s why I came.” Nurse Apara gave me a prescription for taking medicine and glasses after talking to the big doctor on the digital screen. It is very good for us that this center is here.
Upazila Health and Family Planning Officer (Acting) Dr. Shakil Rahman said, Community Law Center has been established only in Tentulia Hospital in Panchagarh district. As a result, general patients suffering from eye diseases can get medical advice from a specialist eye doctor by talking about their problems. Now eye patients in the upazila do not have to go to Thakurgaon, Dinapur and Rangpur. They are getting improved services at 3 o’clock in the morning near their homes without any harassment or financial loss. We want the general public to know and leave the village doctors and get better eye treatment from a specialist doctor.
