{"id":279,"date":"2013-04-28T23:31:38","date_gmt":"2013-04-28T23:31:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.eyecarecaribbean.com\/site\/eyecarecaribbean\/2013\/04\/28\/programme-highlights-quarter-1-january-march-2013\/"},"modified":"2013-04-28T23:31:38","modified_gmt":"2013-04-28T23:31:38","slug":"programme-highlights-quarter-1-january-march-2013","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.eyecarecaribbean.com\/site\/ecc\/eye-on-sight\/programme-highlights-quarter-1-january-march-2013\/","title":{"rendered":"Programme Highlights – Quarter 1 (January-March) 2013"},"content":{"rendered":"

Programme Highlights – Quarter 1 (January-March) 2013<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

During the period under review, CCB\/Eye Care Caribbean, with the support of its Members and Partners, and despite many challenges, continued to execute its programme across the region.<\/p>\n

The following are some of the highlights:<\/p>\n

1. Meeting of the CCB Project Management Committee<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The Project Management Committee, tasked with overseeing the implementation of the EC Project, \u201cDelivering Vision 2020 in the Caribbean\u201d held its annual face-to-face meeting during January 21st and 22nd, 2013 at the City View Hotel, in Antigua and Barbuda. The meeting was attended by Representatives from the Project Countries: Guyana, Jamaica, St. Lucia, Haiti and the CCB Secretariat (Antigua). The EU Programme Office in Guyana, which holds responsibility for the Project, was not represented due to operational reasons.<\/p>\n

The Meeting undertook a critical review of project activities, achievements, and challenges; and provided clarification on several issues. The Committee also confirmed planned activities and related budgets for 2013.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Programme Highlights<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

2. Development of Comprehensive Eye Care Services in Antigua and Barbuda<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The initiative by CCB\/Eye Care Caribbean in collaboration with the Government of Antigua and Barbuda, to facilitate comprehensive and affordable eye care services for the citizens of Antigua and Barbuda, moved closer to fruition as activities continued on several fronts, including:<\/p>\n

2.1 Refurbishment of three (3) Health Centres for the location of Vision Centres<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Refurbishment of the facilities for the Vision Centres at Johnson\u2019s Point, Gray\u2019s Farm and Clare Hall are nearing completion. Additionally, furnishings and diagnostic equipment have been procured and will be installed soon. It is anticipated that the Centres will be ready for commissioning during the second first quarter of 2013.<\/p>\n

2.2 Deployment of Refractionists<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The four (4) Refractionists, who returned to Antigua and Barbuda after successfully completing their period of training at the University of Guyana, have been involved in honing their skills by conducting a series of Clinics, in preparation for their postings at the respective Vision Centres. Clinics were held at the Fiennes Institute and the Clare Vue Psychiatric Hospital. They also provided some support to the Eye Care Programme in Guyana.<\/p>\n

2.3 Training of Dispensing Technicians<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

With the assistance of the Ministry of Health, several persons have been identified for training as Dispensing Technicians for the designated Vision Centres. A written examination will be held shortly to select the most suitable candidates, following which they will offered training for the designated positions.<\/p>\n

3. CCB\/Eye Care Caribbean Website<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The process of developing CCB Website continued with the publication of the January 2013 Edition of the Quarterly Newsletter \u201cEye on Sight\u201d, a Bulletin and articles in observance of World Glaucoma Week. Additionally, new photos were posted in the Photo Gallery as efforts continue to ensure that fresh content is placed on the site regularly.
View website at: www.eyecarecaribbean.com or www.ccb1967.com<\/p>\n

4. Mandeville Regional Hospital Development Programme<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The development of Operating Theatres and a Spectacle Laboratory at the Mandeville Regional Hospital is nearing completion. It is anticipated that the minor works which remain will be completed soon, allowing for the installation, configuration and testing of the equipment which have been procured and being held in storage.
With the commissioning of the additional theatre space, the Southern Regional Health Authority in Jamaica will move from just under 500 cataract surgeries per year (based on four (4) to six (6) hours of theatre time each week) to approximately 2000 cataract surgeries each year, in a population of 612,000 residents.<\/p>\n

5. Procurement of Equipment and Materials<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

With the support of Sightsavers, the process has been initiated for the procurement of equipment for five Vision Centres, to be located in Public Hospitals, in Haiti (2) and Jamaica (3). The locations identified for the Vision Centres in Jamaica are: May Pen, Black River and Percy Junior Hospitals. Efforts are also underway to procure equipment for another Vision Centre planned for St. Lucia.
Additionally, medical text-books were ordered in support of the Training Programme for Residents in Ophthalmology and Lecturers (in Haiti), given the undertaking to provide them with diagnostic tools, computers and reference materials.<\/p>\n

6. Establishment of a Bio-medical Training Lab<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

In an effort to provide support and maintenance services for the work of the Vision Centres, a Bio- Medical Training Lab will be sited in Antigua and Barbuda. It is anticipated that by the end of the Project, up to nine Bio-Medical Technicians from five countries will be trained: Antigua and Barbuda (1); Guyana (2); Haiti (2); Jamaica (3); and St. Lucia (1). The process for the ordering of equipment for the Lab was initiated during the period under review.<\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

7. Glaucoma Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices (KAP) Study<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

In preparation for the launch of a Glaucoma KAP Study, the Proposal Document was submitted to the Ethics Committee in Barbados for approval, in what is believed to be the final step, before the Study commences. At the same time, the relevant materials have been shared with Eye Doctors of the participating Partner Agencies for review, prior to submission the Review Boards of the respective countries. Barring no setbacks, it is anticipated that the Study will commence by the end of the Second Quarter.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

8. Organisational Development (Member Agencies)<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

8.1 Support to the Jamaica Society for the Blind (JSB) in developing a National Framework for Blindness Services<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The draft of the Jamaica Society for the Blind\u2019s National Strategic Framework for Blindness Services has been shared with the Society and feedback received. This has been included in a revised draft and plans are underway to present the Framework to the Annual General Meeting of the organisation which is scheduled for April 20th, 2013.<\/p>\n

8.2 Following discussions during the January 2013 Meeting of the Project Management Committee<\/em><\/strong>, the Reports on the administration of the CAT for Guyana, St. Lucia and Haiti were shared with the respective Agencies. It is anticipated that the areas which need attention will be prioritised and included for action in each Agency\u2019s Organisational Development Plan. The administration of the CAT to personnel of the Jamaica Society for the Blind is scheduled for the Second Quarter<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Programme Highlights – Quarter 1 (January-March) 2013 During the period under review, CCB\/Eye Care Caribbean, with the support of its Members and Partners, and despite many challenges, continued to execute its programme across the region. The following are some of the highlights: 1. Meeting of the CCB Project Management Committee The Project Management Committee, tasked with overseeing the implementation of the EC Project, \u201cDelivering Vision 2020 in the Caribbean\u201d held its annual face-to-face meeting during January 21st and 22nd, 2013 at the City View Hotel, in Antigua and Barbuda. The meeting was attended by Representatives from the Project Countries: Guyana, …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-279","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-eye-on-sight"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eyecarecaribbean.com\/site\/ecc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/279","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eyecarecaribbean.com\/site\/ecc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eyecarecaribbean.com\/site\/ecc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eyecarecaribbean.com\/site\/ecc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eyecarecaribbean.com\/site\/ecc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=279"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.eyecarecaribbean.com\/site\/ecc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/279\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eyecarecaribbean.com\/site\/ecc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=279"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eyecarecaribbean.com\/site\/ecc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=279"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eyecarecaribbean.com\/site\/ecc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=279"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}