CamSur holds cataract mission

“Totally blind na yung isa kong mata. Yung isang mata ko naman, medyo dilaw na yung paningin, at ‘pagbagong gising, masyadong malabo. Kaya noong nabalitaan ko mula sa Facebook page ng probinsya na may libreng eye surgery dito sa Libmanan, inabangan ko talaga,” shared 50-year-old fisherman Renato Ricafort from Bagumbayan, Libmanan.

“Mahirap mangisda ‘pag ganito kalala ang depekto sa mata. Minsan akala ko may isda na, yun pala anino lang yung nakikita ko sa tubig. ‘Di ko alam kung pano makahuli ng isda nang maayos ‘pag ganito yung paningin ko. Pangingisda pa naman ang tanging pangkabuhayan ko,” added Renato.

SURGICAL MISSION. The Provincial Health Office under the administration of Camarines Sur Gov. Migz Villafuerte conducted a free Cataract Mission in Libmanan District Hospital where patients availed of free check up and screened for cataract surgery. Normally, cataract surgery costs P16,000.00 per eye based on Philhealth rates but beneficiaries of the provincial governments cataract mission will be operated for free. jmts/rbmjr/mmec03112020 with photos from fb_provinceofcamsur

Renato is just one of the 110 people with eye problems who benefitted from the cataract mission held at the Libmanan District Hospital on March 6-7, 2020. The event was conducted by the Provincial Government of Camarines Sur, through the efforts of Governor Miguel Luis “Migz” Villafuerte and Congressman Luis Raymund “Lray” Villafuerte, to provide free eye care services to people from different parts in CamSur.

All patients first underwent the free eye checkup and visual screening. Afterwards, patients who were found to be in need of cataract surgery benefitted from free operation. In other hospitals, a cataract surgery can cost from PhP16,000 for PhilHealth members to about PhP50,000 for non PhilHealth members.

“Wala kaming pagkukunan ng PhP50,000. Kaya kung wala ang programang ‘to, siguro hindi rin maooperahan sa mata ang kapatid kong ‘di na nakakakita ngayon. Walang asawa o anak yung kapatid ko, kaya kami langang tumutulong at umaalalay sa kanya. Pagtatanim lang ang pangkabuhayan namin, kaya sobrang laking tulong na nitong cataract mission sa amin,” shared Rosemarie Clutario from Bikal, Libmanan. The provincial government held the first cataract mission in Libmanan last May 2019. Eighteen patients benefitted from last year’s free cataract surgery. The provincial government plans to conduct more free cataract surgeries in the coming months.

The cataract mission is part of the provincial government’s goal to provide free and quality health care services to people in different parts of the province. Apart from the cataract mission, a hearing mission was also conducted by the provincial government last November 2019. The hearing mission, supported by Gov. Migz and Cong. Lray, catered to over a thousand of people in CamSur.