National Eye Centre, Sightsavers launch infection control guideline

The National Eye Centre Kaduna, with support from Sightsavers has launched an infection control policy document which would serve as guideline in ensuring the safety of both workers and patients.

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The acting Chief Medical Director of the centre, Dr Amina Abdulrahman said the importance of the policy guideline cannot be overemphasized due to the close contact between health workers and patients.

Represented by Dr Murtala Muhammad, an Opthalmologist Consultant at the hospital, the acting CMD said the infection control policy would be strictly adhered to with a view to ensuring that infections were minimized.

“Patients come to the hospital to get cured and in the hospital environment, virtually every process you do, you are supposed to follow the standards set up by the World Health Organization.

“This standard will only be followed where there are guidelines that is being followed. We now have a guideline as institution that would ensure our patients leave here safer,” she said.

Abdulrahman explained that apart from the Central Infection Control Committee of the hospital there would be an infection control team to be stationed at every unit of the centre.

She thanked Sightsavers for its support in the production and launching of the guideline and assured them of full the implementation of the policy.

In her remark, the Programme Manager, Eye Health, Sightsavers, Barbara Marok, said the launching of the Infection Control Policy was to ensure that the hospital adhere to world best practices.

“We have a routine assessment that we do, called the quality standard assessment tool, those tools or set of questions help us to rate our partners on world best practices.

“And where we see that our partners needs any support to be able to compete favorably,we come in and we say okay, How can we help?

“That is what we have done with the National Eye Center to support them to have that infection control policy so that it can be recognized and used,” she said.

In partnership with the National Eye Centre, Sightsavers began to support the Kaduna State Eye Care Programme and National Programme for the Prevention of Blindness, with a pilot programme to treat river blindness.

Over the years, it’s programmes have focused on providing eye health services to eliminate avoidable blindness, supporting inclusive education for children with visual impairments and organising social projects to promote the inclusion of people with disabilities.