Vanavil School Children Eye Screening

“Vanavil” – School Children Screening

Our Services

Vanavil-School Children Eye Screening and issue of spectacles

OBJECTIVE:

Sankara Eye Hospital launched “RAINBOW – Vanavil” programme with the main objective “To achieve the maximum reduction in avoidable blindness and organise screening of School children for preventable eye defects through Optimal utilisation of available resources, the community and Voluntary Organisation”. The massive eye care programme is aimed at providing a bright future to the visually handicapped children-our future citizens.

MODUS:

This is a time bound programme to be started by July and completed by October. Distribution of spectacles may be held on Gandhi Jayanthi day.

COMMUNICATION:

Teacher Volunteers (say at the rate of one teacher for every 500 students or part thereof – minimum one from each school) will undergo a methodic orientation as to how to screen the visual status of children. This training will be given by the staff of Sankara Eye Hospital providing them with the basic norms. This orientation programme will be organised at a suitable centre (School) or at our Hospital . Visual aids and other data sheets would be distributed during this training.

Preliminary vision screening by teachers has to be completed in one week during June. The trained Teacher Volunteers will screen the children in their respective schools and record those children who have some visual defects. By experience about 10 to 15% of the children only will be identified for further screening by qualified Optometrists.

Vision screening of the identified children by schoolteachers will be done by 2 teams of two Optometrists from Sankara Eye Hospital and completed by mid August. The spectacles will be made ready by Sankara Eye Hospital. Sponsors support the costs involved in the free distribution of spectacles.

Surgical Treatment: All the students who require Surgeons opinion will be referred to Sankara Eye Hospital for evaluation. The identified children will be treated totally FREE OF COST by Sankara Eye Hospital

Distribution of Spectacles: The distribution of corrective glasses for those children identified with refractive errors will be done in a function on or before October 2nd.

OUTCOME

Large number of undetected visual defects amongst the school children can be identified and redressed.
Mass coverage of student population made possible.
Combined effort of the District Administration, Teaching staff and Voluntary agencies produces commendable success.
Parent – Doctor contact eliminates communication gap.