By Philip Tengzu
Wa, (UW/R), Nov. 26, GNA – Bliss Eye Care, a private eye clinic in Wa, has commissioned an ultra-modern facility equipped with state-of-the-art diagnostic machines to improve access to quality eye-care services in the Upper West Region and beyond.
The new secondary healthcare facility, with private health insurance services, offers comprehensive optical and clinical services.
The facility had three consulting rooms to expedite client care, a boardroom to support its “Blissful Sight for Kids (BS4Ks)” outreach programme, and an optical laboratory, among others.
Speaking at the facility opening, Dr Zakarea Al-Hasan Balure, the Manager of Bliss Eye Care, outlined plans to develop the clinic into a training centre, affiliated to institutions such as Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology and University of Cape Coast.
Established about a decade ago, Bliss Eye Care had been fundamental in addressing persistent challenges in eye-care access in the region and beyond.
Dr Balure explained that the establishment of the facility stemmed from his desire to help address the high prevalence of preventable blindness in the area.
It was also to save people from the ordeal of travelling to other regions to seek basic optometric services.
“Many people struggled not just because their condition was untreatable, but simply because care was out of reach,” he said.
Dr Balure described eye care as a service that restore “dignity, confidence and opportunity.”
He reaffirmed the clinic’s mission to provide professional and affordable services rooted in empathy to prevent preventable eyesight loss.
Dr Peter Roost, a Swiss Optometrist, described the state-of-the-art facility as a symbol of years of cooperation, determination and professional growth in the region.
“It (Bliss Eye Care) shall be a place where nobody is left in the fog, where clarity is restored, and where good eyesight is upheld not as a privilege but as a human right,” he said.
Dr Roost, the President of Ghana Vision, a partner of the BS4Ks project, said the project uses school and community screenings to identify and support children with visual impairments.
Over the past five years, Bliss Eye Care has screened over 32,000 children in the region and supported them with spectacles, medication or referral for surgery.
“Good vision is a bridge to learning, independence and dignity; for many children, that bridge is broken, and Bliss Eye Care is rebuilding it with expertise and determination,” Dr Roost added.
Mrs Beatrice Kunfah, a retired Public Health Nurse and Chairperson of the event, indicated that the facility would complement the efforts of the Ghana Health Service in improving access to eye care in the region.
She emphasised the importance of eye health to people’s overall well-being and expressed optimism that the centre would become a notable eye-care hub in northern Ghana.
In a speech read on his behalf, Mr Charles Lwanga Puozuing, the Upper West Regional Minister, commended Bliss Eye Care for investing in specialised health services that bridge the gap between the region and more urbanised parts of the country.
The event was marked by euphoria as many people, including healthcare professionals, journalists and media practitioners, civil society, and members of the public gathered to witness the grand opening.
GNA
Edited by Caesar Abagali/Lydia Kukua Asamoah