KABUL (SW) – A number of residents and visitors to the eye disease treatment department in Parwan provincial hospital, criticizing the inactivity of this department, say that they have to take their patients to other provinces for treatment.
Yaser Ahmadi, a 22-year-old young man who came to Parwan provincial hospital for eye treatment for his grandfather, said that he was not aware of the inactivity of the eye disease treatment department in this hospital before, and now he is forced to take the patient to Kabul for treatment.
He added: “His eyes are weak. They don’t even have eyelid surgery. We have to operate him in Kabul with high costs. We request the relevant authorities to bring male and female doctors here, people should not wander to other provinces, especially Kabul.”
Rahela, a resident of Parwan who has the same problem as Yaser, said that she visited different private health centers to treat her mother’s eyes, but she cannot afford the high costs of treatment in these hospitals. She also wants the health officials to activate the eye disease treatment department in Parwan provincial hospital.
Rahela said: “My mother’s eyes are shut, so we went to the hospital, which unfortunately does not operate in the eye department. Its cost is about 25 thousand afghanis and we cannot afford even 10 afghanis for it now. A large number of people, both men and women, come here because of eye problems.”
Abdul Khalil Heydari, chief physician at Parwan’s 100-bed specialized hospital, told Salam Watandar that the eye disease treatment department in this hospital has been inactive for more than five years. According to him, dozens of eye patients visit this hospital every day.
Heydari added: “It was active before. We had an eye specialist. We also have some of his equipment. We have suggested several times to the donor institutions that the experts have not yet been assigned and there are many clients.”
Earlier, officials at the Ministry of Public Health had said that they would establish an eye treatment center in the government hospitals of each province.
ENDS
