Terming the consultation fees of some specialist physicians as very high, President Abdul Hamid has asked physicians to minimize their fees to keep the treatment facilities within the capacity of common people, especially the rural poor.
“You have to take steps to reduce treatment costs because the fee many specialist physicians take is out of the capacity of the common people,” the President said while addressing the opening session of the 6th biennial conference of Bangladesh Community Ophthalmological Society (BCOS) here on Tuesday.
“We’ve to keep it in mind that affordability of many heath-service seekers is limited. They need special facilities and treatment at low costs and it is my request that you will be more sincere and cordial to the patients,” he added.
President Hamid said serving the humanity is the aim task of physicians and ophthalmologists can play important role for the eye treatment of the rural poor through special programmes.
A large number of people of the country suffer different preventable eye diseases, including night blindness due mainly to lack of taking care of eyes and knowledge about primary treatment of eyes, he added.
Laying emphasis on creating mass awareness to bring down the preventable eye diseases, he said eye is the very valuable organ of human body and if timely steps are taken for treatment and prevention, it is possible to reduce eye diseases.
About the conference, the President said the ophthalmologists both from home and abroad have gathered here that has created a scope to exchange mutual efficiency and experience and hoped that new directions regarding diagnosis as well as technological techniques would come out from the conference with a view to increasing the standard of eye treatment in the country.
Health Minister Mohammad Nasim, former adviser of Prime Minister Professor Syed Modasser Ali, Vice Chancellor of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) Professor Dr Kamrul Hasan Khan, Director General of the Directorate General of Health Services Deen Mohammad Noorul Huq and secretary general of BCOS Dr Enamur Rahman Chowdhury, spoke on the occasion held with BCOS president Dr Sharfuddin Ahmed in the chair.
Fourteen ophthalmologists were honoured for their contributions in eye treatment at the programme.
