Kangra eye hospital a boon for needy

Ravinder Sood

Palampur, October 19

The SM Eye Hospital at Kangra has proved to be a boon to the needy patients, who are being given free treatment for ailments. Besides, it is also one of the hospitals of the country, where surgeries are performed at lower rates, as compared to that of the eye centres in Punjab, Haryana and Delhi.

It has emerged as a state-of-the-art centre not only for the people of Himachal Pradesh, but also for residents of adjoining states of Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab.

The hospital caters to eye care needs of 200 outpatients every day and about 5,000 surgeries are performed here every year, including phaco-emulsification (stitchless surgery) for cataract, iLasik for removal of glasses, corneal transplant, vitreo retinal surgery, squint surgery and glaucoma surgery. The hospital provides a multi-specialty portfolio of ophthalmology services.

“The hospital is equipped with the latest technology. The staff is supportive and provides services as per ISO 9001:2008 (a validation for maintaining the required international standards),” says Dr Sandeep Mahajan, director of the hospital.

The support staff of the hospital maintains high quality of patient care in terms of cleanliness, reliability, nursing care and speedy service.

Dr Mahajan said the institution was a public asset and he aimed at making it a learning centre for optometrists. It has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Chandigarh University and Chitkara University, and in future may start a fellowship for budding eye surgeons in different specialties.