News / Education
Cimas hands over Optometry Training Unit to UZ
09 Apr 2014 at 14:37hrs | Views
.JPG)
Cimas Medical Aid Society today (Wednesday) handed over to the University of Zimbabwe College of Health Sciences optometry equipment for Zimbabwe's first Optometry Training Unit, which was then officially opened by Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Minister Olivia Muchena.
The unit, which is within Kaguvi Hospital, will train optometrists and provide optometry services to members of the public.
This is the first time that optometry training has been available within Zimbabwe. It will also be the first time that optometry services have been available in a government hospital and at public sector prices.
Thanking Cimas for donating and installing the equipment at a cost of $120 000, Health and Child Welfare Minister David Parirenyatwa said the partnership between Cimas and the University of Zimbabwe was "very much in line with government's ZimAsset policy".
"Zim-Asset envisages utilising and strengthening Public-Private Partnerships," he said, adding that the partnership between Cimas and the university's College of Health Sciences was an example of such a partnership that has yielded tangible results.
He said the vision for the unit had come from the University of Zimbabwe's College of Health Sciences Department of Ophthalmology.
"However, such visions might remain visions unless there are funds to implement them and make them a reality," he said.
He thanked Cimas for responding positively to the Department of Ophthalmology's request for assistance by providing the funds for all the optometry equipment required.
He said the new optometry unit would fill a big gap in the provision of eye health services. The first locally trained optometrists would have been trained in four years time.
Currently there are only optometrists available in the private sector, all of whom obtained their training outside the country.
The Minister urged those responsible for the new unit not to charge their patients much so that those who were poor and from rural areas could afford their services.
Dr Muchena also praised Cimas for its partnership with the university. She said when people talked about Public-Private Partnerships they normally thought of big industries entering into such partnerships.
"We urge people in service industries to bring about the reality of Public-Private Partnerships in the manner that Cimas has done," she said, adding that the new optometry unit that Cimas had made possible would make a big difference to ordinary people.
She said science and technology development had to bring the realities of technology to ordinary people.
"When we bring it to the level of what Cimas and the University of Zimbabwe have done, it becomes a reality," she said.
Cimas Medical Aid Society chairman Mordecai Mahlangu said Cimas had provided the funding because it believed the establishment of an Optometry Training Unit was worthwhile.
"It seemed especially commendable to us that the unit would not only provide training for those wishing to become optometrists but offer optometry services to the Zimbabwean nation as a whole.
"It is our fervent hope and wish that as the unit begins to produce qualified optometrists there will be scope for their deployment in hospitals around the country, making optometry services more readily available to more people," he said.
He said although the Department of Ophthalmology had said even part-funding would go a long way towards achieving the department's vision for an optometry training unit, the Cimas board and management had decided to give the project maximum support by providing the full amount of $120 000 required for the unit's equipment and installation.
University of Zimbabwe vice-chancellor Professor Levi Nyangura, in a speech read on his behalf by pro vice-chancellor Dr Takaruza Munyanyiwa, said the university cherished its partnership with Cimas, which had also contributed to the training of health personnel through undergraduate scholarships and specialist training fellowships at post-graduate level.
Dean of the College of Health Sciences Professor Midion Chidzonga added that Cimas had sponsored one of the university's students to study haematology in South Africa. The student was back now and on the college's staff.
Professsor Nyangura said the optometry equipment paid for by Cimas enabled the Department of Opthalmology to realise its mandate in teaching, research and clinical services for the improvement of patient care.
"The equipment empowers the department to realise its vision to be an internationally recognised training centre for ophthalmologists, optometrists, ophthalmic nurses and undergraduate medical and dental students," he said.
He said the university believed the Ministry of Health and Child Care would create adequate posts for "optometrists who will shortly be on the market from the University of Zimbabwe".
"Let me assure Cimas that the intended BSc Honours degree in Optometry is now a reality. The Department of Ophthalmology, in conjunction with its local and international partners, has drafted regulations for the degree programme, which is being processed for accreditation by the Zimbabwe Council for Higher Education," he said.
The chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology, Professor Rangarirai Masanganise, said the optometry equipment provided by Cimas was the best anyone could have obtained.
"We have the best equipment comparable to anywhere in the world," he said.
The different optometry gadgets were sufficient to both train optometrists and offer a service to the public. They would also be used in the training of ophthalmologists and ophthalmic nurses, he said.
Optometrists' training is focused primarily on the eyes. An optometrist performs eye examinations and can determine the presence of vision-related problems. Optometrists can prescribe eye glasses and contact lenses. They may be able to prescribe eye drops for various conditions as well.
Ophthalmologists are medical doctors who specialise in eye and vision care. Opticians test eyes, prescribe eye glasses, determine the appropriate eye glass lenses and frames and adjust hem so they fit.
An optometrist's training takes four years. Four students have already enrolled for the optometry course at the new Optometry Training Unit.
After cutting a ribbon to signify the opening of the unit, Dr Muchena was shown round the unit and given an insight into what different types of optometry equipment are used for.
The unit, which is within Kaguvi Hospital, will train optometrists and provide optometry services to members of the public.
This is the first time that optometry training has been available within Zimbabwe. It will also be the first time that optometry services have been available in a government hospital and at public sector prices.
Thanking Cimas for donating and installing the equipment at a cost of $120 000, Health and Child Welfare Minister David Parirenyatwa said the partnership between Cimas and the University of Zimbabwe was "very much in line with government's ZimAsset policy".
"Zim-Asset envisages utilising and strengthening Public-Private Partnerships," he said, adding that the partnership between Cimas and the university's College of Health Sciences was an example of such a partnership that has yielded tangible results.
He said the vision for the unit had come from the University of Zimbabwe's College of Health Sciences Department of Ophthalmology.
"However, such visions might remain visions unless there are funds to implement them and make them a reality," he said.
He thanked Cimas for responding positively to the Department of Ophthalmology's request for assistance by providing the funds for all the optometry equipment required.
He said the new optometry unit would fill a big gap in the provision of eye health services. The first locally trained optometrists would have been trained in four years time.
Currently there are only optometrists available in the private sector, all of whom obtained their training outside the country.
The Minister urged those responsible for the new unit not to charge their patients much so that those who were poor and from rural areas could afford their services.
Dr Muchena also praised Cimas for its partnership with the university. She said when people talked about Public-Private Partnerships they normally thought of big industries entering into such partnerships.
"We urge people in service industries to bring about the reality of Public-Private Partnerships in the manner that Cimas has done," she said, adding that the new optometry unit that Cimas had made possible would make a big difference to ordinary people.
She said science and technology development had to bring the realities of technology to ordinary people.
"When we bring it to the level of what Cimas and the University of Zimbabwe have done, it becomes a reality," she said.
Cimas Medical Aid Society chairman Mordecai Mahlangu said Cimas had provided the funding because it believed the establishment of an Optometry Training Unit was worthwhile.
"It seemed especially commendable to us that the unit would not only provide training for those wishing to become optometrists but offer optometry services to the Zimbabwean nation as a whole.
"It is our fervent hope and wish that as the unit begins to produce qualified optometrists there will be scope for their deployment in hospitals around the country, making optometry services more readily available to more people," he said.
He said although the Department of Ophthalmology had said even part-funding would go a long way towards achieving the department's vision for an optometry training unit, the Cimas board and management had decided to give the project maximum support by providing the full amount of $120 000 required for the unit's equipment and installation.
University of Zimbabwe vice-chancellor Professor Levi Nyangura, in a speech read on his behalf by pro vice-chancellor Dr Takaruza Munyanyiwa, said the university cherished its partnership with Cimas, which had also contributed to the training of health personnel through undergraduate scholarships and specialist training fellowships at post-graduate level.
Dean of the College of Health Sciences Professor Midion Chidzonga added that Cimas had sponsored one of the university's students to study haematology in South Africa. The student was back now and on the college's staff.
Professsor Nyangura said the optometry equipment paid for by Cimas enabled the Department of Opthalmology to realise its mandate in teaching, research and clinical services for the improvement of patient care.
"The equipment empowers the department to realise its vision to be an internationally recognised training centre for ophthalmologists, optometrists, ophthalmic nurses and undergraduate medical and dental students," he said.
He said the university believed the Ministry of Health and Child Care would create adequate posts for "optometrists who will shortly be on the market from the University of Zimbabwe".
"Let me assure Cimas that the intended BSc Honours degree in Optometry is now a reality. The Department of Ophthalmology, in conjunction with its local and international partners, has drafted regulations for the degree programme, which is being processed for accreditation by the Zimbabwe Council for Higher Education," he said.
The chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology, Professor Rangarirai Masanganise, said the optometry equipment provided by Cimas was the best anyone could have obtained.
"We have the best equipment comparable to anywhere in the world," he said.
The different optometry gadgets were sufficient to both train optometrists and offer a service to the public. They would also be used in the training of ophthalmologists and ophthalmic nurses, he said.
Optometrists' training is focused primarily on the eyes. An optometrist performs eye examinations and can determine the presence of vision-related problems. Optometrists can prescribe eye glasses and contact lenses. They may be able to prescribe eye drops for various conditions as well.
Ophthalmologists are medical doctors who specialise in eye and vision care. Opticians test eyes, prescribe eye glasses, determine the appropriate eye glass lenses and frames and adjust hem so they fit.
An optometrist's training takes four years. Four students have already enrolled for the optometry course at the new Optometry Training Unit.
After cutting a ribbon to signify the opening of the unit, Dr Muchena was shown round the unit and given an insight into what different types of optometry equipment are used for.
Source - Consultants
