Sight First Out Reach Program
Howrah Lions Hospital is situated in the industrial town of Howrah. The surrounding population is mostly poor and downtrodden section of the society specifically industrial workers. There are more than 500 villages surrounding the hospital in the radius of 150 kms. There is lack of eye care services around the villages. Howrah Lions Hospital serves these villages under its unique Sight First - Out Reach Programme through its hospital as a base hospital.
Under this programme – The hospital, in collaboration with local clubs, organizes regular eye screening camps in remote villages
- In these camps the patients are thoroughly checked by our team of expert doctors.
- The patients with cataract are identified.
- Its own Patients Carrying Bus brings the fit cases to the hospital.
- The patients are operated in the well-equipped operation theatres with modern technology including IOL & Phaco surgeries.
- During the two-day stay in the hospital, the patients are provided pre-operative medicines and nutritious food.
- Thereafter patients are transported back to their villages with postoperative medicines.
- Postoperative care is undertaken by visits of our doctors to the villages at regular intervals.
- After 15 days follow up action is taken. Refraction is done to the patients and spectacles provided, if required.
To fulfill the above objective in the better way and to fulfill the need of increasing population and patients with eye ailments the hospital has three newly built Operation Theatres, fully equipped with modern instruments and gadgets of which two are reserved for Eye Surgeries only. Three patient carrying buses are reserved for bringing patients to and fro the villages.
The main activity of the hospital under Sight First – out reach program is currently limited to cataract surgeries. With the increasing population and the increasing concept of fast food in youngsters, the cases of diabetes is increasing day by day causing effects on the retinal tissues of the patient. Similarly cases of Glaucoma are increasing day by day. The hospital in near future going to create infrastructure for treatment of diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma patients, for which necessary equipments and accessories shall be procured with the help of benevolent donors. This facility is availably in some of the big hospital in twin city of Kolkata but treatment cost is very high and unbearable for the common man. There is no facility for the treatment of such patients in the district of Howrah or nearby districts of Hooghly, East Medinipore, West Medinipore and Burdwan as well as North 24 Paragnas & South 24 Paragnas.
The hospital has already spread its wings to 225 villages in the 150 KM radius of the hospital. To give maximum benefit to the needy persons under Sight First – out reach program, the hospital have to send its team of doctors and Para-medical staffs to the remote villages for Eye Screening Camps and post operative eye care facilities. Although the hospital has 3 (three) patient carrying buses in its fleet to transport the patients from remote villages to the hospital and back home. But there are no arrangements for movement of the team of Doctors and paramedical staffs for eye screening camps and postoperative eye care. The team has to move by route buses and/ or trains and/ or cycle rickshaws and some times also on foot to reach its destination that is a time taking factor. In view of the above, the hospital is urgently has received an ambulance cum mobile medical unit from a benevolent donor Mr. Kakrania.
Hospital has already on its roll sufficient number of qualified ophthalmologists who attend O.P.D. on 6 days a week and operate the patients on day-to-day basis. They are well trained & experienced in using latest equipments. The hospital is already running Cornea Clinic and Vitreo Retinal Clinic in OPD in its existing set up,
