About Us  We are a society motivated to get the latest developments in ophthalmology to you as quickly, and accurately as possible.Through our website, Ocula.info, the Society for Clinical Ophthalmology aims to equip you with the cutting-edge ophthalmic information and the answers you need, whether you are a healthcare professional or patient / consumer. Follow the links to the area of this site that best suit your needs – and let the Society open your eyes… Practitioners or Patient / ConsumerEditorial Update
Some of you may know that it is Fairtrade Fortnight (22nd Febuary to 7th March 2010). Faritrade is a organisation that aims to protect workers in the Developing world by supporting fair working conidtions. The Faritrade organisation puts it like this 'Our vision is of a world in which justice and sustainable development are at the heart of trade structures and practices so that everyone, through their work, can maintain a decent and dignified livelihood and develop their full potential.'
Surprisingly there are no medical Fairtrade standards. Surgical instruments for example (click this LINK) are often crafted in countries that are known to use child labour - a situation none of us would feel comfortable about I am sure. According to UNICEF, estimates 158 million children aged five to 14 are engaged in child labour around the world. The work interferes with their education and often forces them to do the most menial of jobs, the sorts of things we as adults would be hard pressed to sign up for, forget wanting our kids to do.
The British Medical Association have, this week, launched a campaign to raise awareness of the potential for buying from these sources and it is something we should all read. As practitioners we have a duty to our patients but we also have a wider duty and within this we must increasingly think about where the instruments or swabs or gowns that we use were made and by whom.
SGFRead more from our president HERE. |
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