ISLAMABAD: While it has treated 27 million patients and conducted seven million eye surgeries in the last 30 years, Al Shifa Trust has planned to treat 2.5 million eye patients annually under its next five year plan.

The new plan has been made due to a significant increase in the number of eye patients in Pakistan due to diabetes and unawareness.

Moreover, mobile health vehicles have been arranged to give pick-and-drop services to poor patients of rural areas of Rawalpindi, Chakwal, Sukkur and Kohat and provide them free treatment.

The trust’s executive director, retired Brig Rizwan Asghar, said this while speaking to journalists on Sunday.

He said treating 27 million patients, in 30 years, was a service worth Rs13 billion, while tens of thousands of patients were suffering from glaucoma, cataract and eye cancer.

“While nearly seven million eye surgeries have been conducted at the hospital, 1.3 million patients are treated at Rawalpindi, Chakwal, Kohat, Muzaffarabad and Sukkur hospitals annually. A large number of children are treated at the children’s eye hospital,” he said.

The executive director said that due to increase in diabetes, and unawareness the number of eye patients was increasing significantly in Pakistan, therefore, a plan has been made under the leadership of Trust President retired Maj Gen Rehmat Khan to double the capacity over the next five years to better serve the masses.

“The expansion will not only increase our capacity but we will also improve procedures, enhance overall care, and ensure better accessibility, safety, and delivery of service,” he said, adding that a new block was under construction at Chakwal Hospital and a full-fledged hospital has been planned in Quetta.

“A camping structure is to be set up in Gilgit to provide free treatment to the people of remote areas of Gilgit-Baltistan and the establishment of low-vision departments in Lahore and Karachi is on the cards,” Mr Asghar said.

Giving more details, he said that outreach teams were added to the Sukkur and Kohat eye hospitals expanding free eye camps throughout the country.

Mobile health vehicles have been arranged to give pick-and-drop services to poor patients of rural areas of Rawalpindi, Chakwal, Sukkur and Kohat, he added.

“After the basic screening, patients will be brought to the hospitals for complete treatment that will include free medicine, free night stay, and meals and patients would be dropped at their homes after the procedure,” he said, adding that public private partnership was the need of the hour to upgrade eye treatment facilities at the district level to handle increasing number of eye patients.

Published in Dawn, March 27th, 2023