Surgical units to be part of Al-Shifa free camps

Islamabad

The Al-Shifa Trust has decided to add surgical units to its free eye camps organised all over the country, especially in the far flung areas.

The decision was taken to operate the cataract patients at their doorstep to save them from travelling to the hospitals which will save their time and money.

"A cataract is a clouding of the eye's natural lens, which lies behind the iris and the pupil. It is the most common cause of vision loss in people over age 40 and is the principal cause of blindness in the world," President of the trust Lt. General (r) Hamid Javed told reporters here.

He said the surgical units, which were to conduct the operations, would comprise experienced doctors, paramedics, equipment, medicines and glasses.

"The surgical teams will use the existing facilities of basic health units and other medical facilities in the respective areas to conduct the procedures," he added.

Lt. General (r) Hamid Javed said that with this initiative around 5000 cataract surgeries will be possible annually costing eighty million rupees.

All the arrangements in this connection have been finalised and surgeries will start soon after Eid, he said, adding that the expenses of the new initiative would be met through donations from the generous contributors. 

He said that the trust aims at delivering quality eye care facilities to the people in the rural and underserved areas.

Dr Tariq Usman, general manager of the Al-Shifa Centre for Community Opthamology, who was also in attendance, said that free eye camps were arranged in the remote areas where the patients had no access to hospital and lack recourses to afford the quality medical facilities.

The trust has the capacity to establish 15-18 eye screening camps in a month while school screening team conduct their operations for 5-6 days a week, he added.