Plan for more eye doctors

Star: KUALA LUMPUR: The Health Ministry plans to increase the number of eye doctors in the country from 350 to 525 by 2020, said minister Datuk Liow Tiong Lai.
“Our target is to have 1.5 ophthalmologists per 100,000 population by that time. Currently, the ratio is 1.3 to 100,000,” he told a press conference after officially opening the Lions Eye Clinic at Mahsa College here yesterday.
The clinic was set up by the Lions Clubs in District 308 B1 Malaysia in collaboration with the college to restore sight to the poor and elderly who had cataracts.
Liow said the ministry took in 25 trainees every year to supplement the lack of specialists dealing with eye-related diseases and surgery.
He said there was also a need for more medical staff in the government sector as about 47% of the positions were yet to be filled.
“The ministry is continuously carrying out measures to increase the number of doctors, such as by raising their allowances and placing graduates directly in positions suited to their qualifications,” Liow said.
He stressed on the importance of eye care and urged parents to pay greater attention to their children’s vision by complying with their optometrists’ advice and taking them for regular eye assessments.
An average of 200,000 kindergarten and 4.5 million school students undergo the ministry’s free eye examination and visual screening every year.
Asked to comment on the political developments in Perak, Liow said he personally did not agree to party-hopping but emphasised that whoever led the state must be fair and look after the interest of all races.
“I also hope the people in Perak will not be overly emotional about the recent changes,” he added.