ORIGINS. ADDRESSING EYE HEALTH THROUGH SCREENING AND CATARACT SURGERY. In 1996, the ADK Jain Eye Centre began conducting annual free eye camps in the districts of Badagaon and Khakda in the outskirts of Delhi. By mid 2005 20, villages in the districts of Bagpat and Shamli in Uttar Pradesh had been included in the scope of the programme. Patients were being brought in from the villages to the ADK Jain Eye Centre facility in Lakshminagar, Delhi. 500 camps. 10,000 patients treated. 1,000 cataract surgeries performed.
PROGRAMME PARTNERS. The service was provided as part of the National Prevention of Blindness Central Programme (NPBCP), and the Motiya Mukti Abhiyan (Govt of Delhi programme) under the Guru Nanak Eye Center (GNEC). These valuable initiatives enable lenses and operation theatre material expenses support from the government. Contributions from the Fred Hollows Foundation, Australia funded microscopes and other essential hardware.
The Vision 20:20 eye screening programme in 2008 among 30,000 students between 5 and 10 years across socio economic groups and urban / rural segments studied patterns in vision, obvious defects and colour blindness. Screening was followed by interactions with students and their parents, and handing over of personal vision screening cards and sponsored spectacles where required. Speaking at international medical conventions, papers were presented on the marked difference in the onset of lazy eye (amblyopia) between the segments studied and the hypothesis that early schooling has a strong causal effect.
THE 30 BED COMMUNITY EYE HOSPITAL MODEL
Under Mission Samriddhi, a 30 bed community eye hospital model is under development where subsidized / free eye screening and cataract surgery will be provided to camp patients, while fully charged services are also available to local residents. Extending the current facility of eye surgery camps where patients from villages are brought in for surgery and then taken back to their villages, the community eye hospital will be designed for overnight stay of patients the night before and post op.
One version of the model currently in advanced stages of discussion is the refurbishment of an existing hospital in Mayur Vihar, Delhi. Green field projects are also under consideration.
Models will consider the delivery of first rate eye care / surgery at reasonable prices, and sustainable mechanisms whereby funding for less privileged patients can be managed through treatment of paying patients and regular donor contributions.
Project leads :
Dr. Manju Verma (MB, BS, FRACGP, PhD, MS(Ophth)
Dr. Manju Verma, is a renowned Opthamologist and the Chairperson of the Advisory Council on Healthcare at Mission Samriddhi.
With a Fellowship, a Doctorate in Ocular immunity and a Post graduate Fellowship in Ophthalmology from Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, Dr. Manju has utilized her rich expertise to serve the underprivileged through a number of charitable projects. She travels to India regularly to support projects aimed at improving the eye health of both children and adults via screening programs and cataract surgery. Her association with the A D K Jain Memorial Trust and A D K Jain eye care have resulted in several thousand cataract surgeries for the poor in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh.
Dr.Ruma Gupta
Dr. Ruma Gupta is an MBBS and MD in Ophthalmology. With more than a decade of experience in performing eye screening programs as well as cataract surgeries for the poor, Dr Ruma is focused on providing compassionate eye-care to the rural poor in the outskirts of Delhi and UP. Owing to her rich experience at ADK Jain Memorial Trust and ADK Jain Eyecare, Dr Ruma is a valuable member of the Advisory Council on Community Health at Mission Samriddhi.