12 May 2023 10:06 am Views - 3641
Several patients who developed complications due to the use of ‘Prednisolone’, an eye drop used after cataract surgeries at three government hospitals, demand financial compensation for the damage caused to their eyes and possible threats to their lives.
One of the victims, P. A. Nandasena, aged 67 is a resident of Bandarawela who recently underwent eye surgery at the Nuwara Eliya General Hospital. Speaking exclusively with the Daily Mirror he said “I was admitted to the hospital on April 04 and underwent cataract surgery on the following day (05) when the medicine in question was applied. Then, I was discharged on April 06.”
“The complications started to present after about 14 days. It’s as if I have a spider web over my operated eye. I started to lose my vision gradually. Troubled by this, I went to the hospital to seek advice and was told to admit myself at the hospital again,” Nandasena recalled.
“Subsequently, five patients including myself were transferred to the National Eye Hospital in Colombo, where several treatments were done to my eye. It was terribly painful,” he said.
Another victim named M Rajarathnam, sharing his experience, said that it was really unfortunate that it happened to poor people like them. “It is now an additional burden to our life,” he lamented.
“We need compensation for what happened to us. Our lives are now in peril. We have nothing to do with it. The fault is with the government. Therefore, we demand financial compensation,” he said. (Sheain Fernandopulle) (Pic by Nimalsiri Edirisinghe)
P. A Nandasena-Bandarawela
M. Rajarathnam