Doing Good for People to See Project

Banphaeo Hospital

     Cataract is the country’s top eye health problem that if left untreated would eventually lead to blindness in the elderly. According to the estimates, 60,000 new patients from cataracts appear each year, while, more than 100,000 accumulated patients are waiting for treatment each year. These patients live in remote areas where expert ophthalmologists are still need to improve. They also are impoverished and therefore cannot afford healthcare costs, as well as knowledge about the disease and having fear about the treatment.

     Banphaeo Hospital (public organization), located in Ban Phaeo District, Samut Sakhon, is a state-supervised hospital that can perform cataract surgeries. The hospital recognizes the importance of addressing this issue and wishes to reduce the number of cataract patients to help them regain clear vision. Therefore, the hospital collaborated with the National Health Security Office (NHSO) and launched a mobile cataract surgery unit that travels weekly to remote areas with a shortage of ophthalmologists. The project was initiated in 2006 and has been ongoing until now.

     To support the ‘Doing Good for People to See’ Project of Banphaeo Hospital (public organization), the Suthirat Yoovidhya Foundation donated 1,050,000 baht to launch a proactive service unit for patients with blinding cataracts ranging from moderate to severe vision impairment in areas where there is a shortage of ophthalmologists or low surgical services. The goal is to treat elderly patients who cannot access healthcare coverage or are financially disadvantaged but urgently require surgery to regain their vision. The donation will provide treatment for 100 eyes, with 1,000,000 baht allocated for cataract surgery and 50,000 baht for patient screening expenses.

     In 2022, Banphaeo Hospital (public organization) used the donation funds to implement the project in Chanthaburi, Surin and Samut Sakhon. A total of 1,521 patients were screened and 57 patients received surgery for cataracts, out of a total of 509 surgeries performed. The details are:

Khao Sukim Hospital, Chanthaburi, 29 patients
Chom Phra Hospital, Surin, 14 patients
Chumphon Buri Hospital, Surin, 12 patients
Banphaeo International Eye Hospital, 2 patients

Doing Good for People to See Project

Banphaeo Hospital