Operations made possible through protocol established in 2018
Around 1,000 patients in the country’s interior have benefited from free cataract operations under protocols established in 2018 between the Álvaro Carvalho Foundation and nine municipal councils.
In a press release, the Álvaro Carvalho Foundation said that it performed its “1,000th cataract surgery in the interior of Portugal” on Tuesday as part of the ‘Giving Sight to the Interior’ project – marking “an important step forward in the provision of ophthalmological care to underprivileged populations”.
“This initiative aims to make up for shortfalls in care provided by the health service in the speciality of ophthalmology, significantly reducing waiting times for first consultations (which can take up to several years) and cataract surgeries”, explained the release.
According to the organisation, “the Álvaro Carvalho Foundation has established partnerships with nine councils in the Beira region, sharing the costs of the operations and ensuring that they will provide free care to residents.
“Individuals and institutions, such as the Claude and Sofia Marion Foundation, contribute to the financial support of this charitable cause”, it said, emphasising that “patients are selected based on strict clinical and social criteria”. The Beira Interior Ophthalmological Clinic in Castelo Branco is the technical partner.
Speaking to Lusa, the eponymous president of the Álvaro Carvalho Foundation said today that the patients who benefited from this initiative were spread across the municipalities of Figueira de Castelo Rodrigo (172), Almeida (207), Idanha-a-Nova (135), Mêda (85), Penamacor (160), Pinhel (86), Proença-a-Nova (70), Sabugal (48) and Sertã (8), in the districts of Guarda and Castelo Branco. There were also a total of 14 patients from elsewhere in those districts.
According to Dr Carvalho, there is a “small percentage, of 15 or 20 patients in total, the Foundation ended up bearing the costs”, for social or clinical reasons.
“Our protocol is equal payment: the Foundation pays 50% of the surgery, and the council pays 50%. And the council ensures that the patients are transported to the surgical site”, he said, explaining that the basic price of the surgery is €1,100.
The president of the Foundation added that next month, Mação Town Council will be joining this project.
According to the press release, in addition to the care days in various medical specialities, through which it offers ‘hundreds of free consultations’, the Álvaro Carvalho Foundation also invests in training health professionals, with a special focus on nursing home carers.
“The Álvaro Carvalho Foundation is an organisation dedicated to providing medical care to underprivileged population sectors in the rural interior of Portugal” which, “through strategic partnerships and innovative initiatives”, works “to fill care gaps and improve access to essential health services”.
At this complicated point in Portugal’s state health service, foundations like this are worth their weight in gold.
Source material: LUSA
