JOIN USTo prevent and manage increasing incidence of blindness in the Capital, the Delhi government proposes to set up an ultra-modern eye hospital, said health minister A K Walia.
The two existing eye hospitals are Guru Nanak Eye Centre in central Delhi and Attar Sain Jain Eye and General Hospital in north Delhi.
The minister said in Delhi there are about 1.85 lakh blind persons, of which cataract alone accounts for 1,14,250. Government as well private hospitals are currently able to operate 90,000 eye patients. Of these, nearly 50 per cent patients come from outside Delhi, which is a big challenge for the health planners.
These conditions have created the need for another eye hospital so that the growing demand for eye treatment is effectively met, he said while inaugurating 13th Motiabind Mukti Abhiyan (MMA) at Guru Nanak Eye Hospital.
Under the programme, 39 designated hospitals and 500 referral centres in government, private and NGO sectors will be screening and registering cataract patients till Friday. They will be operated for free at designated referral hospitals.
The minister said since the inception of MMA, 4.03 lakh patients have been screened and about 43,747 cases have been successfully operated. Delhi’s rural areas have been specifically covered as it harbours nearly one third of blinds.
There is a strong need to rope in more cataract patients under the ambit of surgical operation, he said.