14 September 2009
Sadly, the volunteering opportunity that was being arranged for me at a public hospital in Central Jamaica did not transpire. Gladly, there was a social worker where I was staying who invited me to visit one of the places that she works in.
It was a Level 2 Medical Centre combined with a Community Development Centre in one of the poorer suburbs of Kingston. Formally they had been using what I think must have been an auto refractor to determine what strength glasses to give to those who visited the clinic. The auto refractor was a gift from an optometrist based in Canada who left it with them after deciding that she could no longer make regular visits to examine patients herself. She was also supplying them with donated spectacles from Canada. For several years the auto refractor was used to help match patients to the best pair of glasses available in the selection. The first time the machine broke a technician from Canada was flown out to fix the problem, which extended its life by a couple more years. The next time it broke the clinic had lost contact with the Canadian benefactor and the instrument could not be repaired. As such, the clinic ceased to offer any eye services, which was a big loss for the large poor community it served. (Apparently it drew patients from far far away by reputation and word of mouth alone.)
Another machine had been sent to replace the broken one from an aid organisation within Jamaica, but because no one knew how to operate it, it remained in its box. I agreed to visit the clinic in the hope of identifying the new machine and training some locals to use it. The instrument turned out to be an old cast-iron phoropter head, (a non-automated instrument for determining prescriptions), which required far more training than I was able to give in the few days I was there.
I discussed the situation with the administrators of the clinic, who were very keen to reinstate the eye services. I pointed out that they should really be aiming to provide a health check in addition to a refraction and glasses, and found them to be very enthusiastic about trying to organise a more comprehensive program. Ideally they would have a local optometrist based at the clinic. Failing that, the clinic would like to host eye teams from abroad. Hopefully something can be organised soon for these health workers who have a strong desire to better serve the visual needs of their large and needy client base.
