RAWALPINDI: Dubbed as Asia’s largest eye hospital with a capacity to treat 150,000 patients a year, Al-Shifa Trust Children Eye Hospital started its operations here on Tuesday.

“The hospital project was designed to facilitate patients and families, improve efficiency and deliver high quality care. It was completed according to schedule with an investment of Rs1 billion and it will be able to cater to the needs of 500 outdoor patients a day,” said Al-Shifa Trust Executive Director retired Brig Rizwan Asghar.

Talking to journalists, he said apart from taking care of 500 OPD patients, 50 complicated surgeries could be performed by the hospital’s specialists in a day.

Mr Asghar said this would be the biggest hospital in Asia as far as the capacity was concerned. He said the hospital had been completed under the supervision of the trust president retired Maj-Gen Rehmat Khan.

He said the hospital staff would provide the best care and treatment to children and play a central role in research for which they were thankful to philanthropists and donors.

“We have hired 16 eye specialists. All the operation theatres have been equipped with the latest machinery and linked with operation theatres of the main hospital,” he said, adding the four-storey complex had been dedicated to eye cancer department and other wards besides rooms for doctors, cafeteria, waiting areas and private rooms.

He said 80pc of the patients were treated free of cost in the hospital while those who could afford did not need to travel to the United States or United Kingdom as they would get equally good services in this hospital. Eye screening for children should be made mandatory as lack of awareness could create problems for them, Mr Asghar said, adding: “Babies should be able to see in terms of focusing ability, colour, vision, and depth perception in their sixth month. Therefore, they should have their first comprehensive eye exam at that age.”

He said that data regarding school screening showed that 20pc of children had some sort of eye problem while 5pc had severe eye disorders.

Eyes of children should be examined again at age three and just before their entry to school, he said, adding premature babies should be examined soon after birth for timely treatment. He said that children who needed eyeglasses should be examined annually or as per doctor’s advice.

Published in Dawn, August 4th, 2021