We join 1,300 patients ready to regain their eyesight at the Layton Rahmatulla Benevolent Trust Hospital in Lahore.
Futures in Sight
It’s only 9 am, but treatment is already underway for more than a thousand patients at Lahore’s LRBT Hospital.
They have come to regain their sight. Eighty percent of blindness is curable and here they will be treated for cataracts, glaucoma, and all other eye ailments. Their care is free — LRBT believes that no-one should be blind because they can’t afford treatment. The Lahore LRBT hospital is one of 16 throughout Pakistan.
We are welcomed by the hospital’s Director Col. Iqtadar Hussain who explains the streamlined ‘production line’ system that allows LRBT to treat so many patients. Patients follow a succession of steps from reception to release. Illiterate patients receive coloured cards that match the door colours of the departments they need to visit – red for examinations, green for cataracts etc, he explains.
“We do not charge a rupee for anything,” says Col. Iqatar Hussain before introducing us to Ophthalmologist Dr Jawad Bin Yamin for a guided tour of the facilities.
We start with the operating theatre.
Since arriving in Pakistan four days ago, I have enjoyed a host of amazing experiences. But I never dreamed I would find myself dressed as a surgeon, and conversing with them while operations take place around us.
“We have the latest state of the art equipment. There is no comparable service anywhere in the world,” Chief Consultant Opthalmologist Dr. Zaheer uddin Aqil Qazi tells us as his colleagues are busy restoring the vision of four patients. LRBT believes strongly that charity should not mean second-rate treatment. Live images of the surgery taking place can be seen on four television monitors for training purposes. Close-ups of magnified eyes being incised fill each screen. A quick glance is enough for me.
Removing our surgical garments, we head to the wards where we meet head nurse Promile. She introduces us to Kharid Rahek, a mature woman who is recuperating from cataract surgery. Cataract operations account for 80 percent of the hospital’s work. “We get everything here,” says Kharid.
In the opthalmology department, Dr. Samaha is testing the eyesight of Rizwan, a medical student. “I need the best eyeglasses for my studies, that’s why I came here,” he says. “I’ve heard about LRBT’s good work since I was a child.”
LRBT was founded in 1985 in a caravan as a mobile eye care site. In this its silver jubilee year, the charity celebrated its 19 millionth patient. One of the most successful medical interventions in Pakistan’s history, LRBT has halved the prevalence of blindness from 1.8 percent of the Pakistani population to 0.9 percent now.
Our tour is completed and our guide Dr Jawad Bin Yamin is returning to his department. “It’s great to work here,” he says heading down the corridor. “It satisfies your soul, it really does.”
The British Asian Trust is funding screening for LRBT allowing the charity to reach out to even more patients.
You can read all the blogs from the Trust’s recent trip to Pakistan (Day 1 - Day 5) by scrolling up or down.
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