Interview

'We can Easily Claim that We are Second to None'

LV Prasad Eye Institute, the leading specialty centre for comprehensive eye health and vision rehabilitation, hardly needs any introduction. Dr Taraprasad Das, an internationally reputed retinal surgeon and Director, LV Prasad Eye Institute, Bhubaneswar shares his thoughts on the healthcare sector in Orissa and the future plans of the hospital. Excerpts:

Why and what prompted the group to set up the tertiary Eye care unit in Bhubaneswar? Do you feel that there was a serious dearth of proper eye care facilities in the city prior to the setting up of the LVPEI?

Well, I wanted to pay back to the state, where I was born and brought up in my own humble way. Basic eye care facilities were available before, and we introduced the latest technique and technology at LVPEI, Bhubaneswar. The response from the people of the state has been overwhelming.

Dr Taraprasad Das

What are your views on the private healthcare industry in the state?

Bhubaneswar has attracted large investments from industries such as IT, technology, steel, aluminium, tourism, health and education sectors. The per capita income of the state is growing, which has scaled up dispensable income among the people. Besides, there is growing health awareness among the general public. Today, with the emergence of the medical insurance industry and the entry of TPAs, people seldom compromise with their health-related issues. So, there are definite signs of growth for the private healthcare industry in the state and the future is bright. At the same time, we would like to add that we are blessed to have a pro-active state administration that have a strong political will to revamp the healthcare delivery system in the state.

What kind of advanced eye-care services and surgeries are available at the hospital?

L V Prasad Eye Institute is a world-class, specialty centre for comprehensive eye health and vision rehabilitation. The Eye Hospital has the expertise and infrastructure to support complex and technologically advanced ophthalmic diagnosis and surgical and medical interventions. Medical care is supported by sophisticated in-house laboratory facilities that make it possible to handle the complete range of eye care needs, from routine cataract to complex retinal and oculoplasty services. Facilities include specially designed services for vulnerable age groups such as children and the elderly.

High-end diagnostic equipment at the institute, not previously available in Orissa, includes electrophysiology for detection of retinal and visual pathway disorders, Orbscan for evaluation of corneal contour, Retcam for retinal evaluation of neonates and small children, IOL Master for precise estimation of intraocular lens power, and specular microscope for accurate counting of corneal endothelial cells.

The institute has a comprehensive eye cancer programme for children and an integrated low vision and visual rehabilitation service that offers final help to less sighted individuals with tailored visual aids and teaches lifestyle management to incurably blind people. The institute is engaged in both clinical and basic research. It was the first to report Microsporidia epidemic keratoconjunctivitis in the world from patients in this part of the country.

It is seen that patients from this part of the country, prefer to travel down to South or the West of India for advanced treatment and complicated surgeries. In this context, what is your message to these patients?

Firstly, let me reiterate that today there is no need for any patients to go anywhere for advanced medical treatment and surgery excepting a few cases for which the infrastructure is not in place. Bhubaneswar houses some of the most advanced hospitals and boasts of leading medical professionals, para-medical staff and nurses. Besides, the hospitals in the city are equipped with the most advanced medical equipment and facilities. All kinds of complicated medical surgeries and procedures are performed here with élan and we can easily claim that we are second to none.

How do you plan to provide advanced eye-care facilities to those underprivileged people of the region?

Care is provided free of cost to economically underprivileged. The Eye Institute is a non-profit organisation governed by the Hyderabad Eye Institute (HEI) and the Hyderabad Eye Research Foundation (HERF). Our mission is to provide affordable and comprehensive eye care to all sections of society. Therefore, we focus on geographically and economically disadvantaged groups, including both the rural and the urban backward classes and extend our services to them through satellite clinics and rural affiliates. We are providing outpatient services to 30-32 per cent patients and surgical care to almost 42 per cent patients free of cost currently.

LVPEI is the only eye-care institute to provide fixed facilities to underprivileged people living in the remote villages of the country.

Please share with us some of your future plans.

Our objective is to upgrade the skills of practicing ophthalmologists and to provide opportunities to keep abreast of developments in the field of vision science and its application. We aim to equip new entrants to the field with the appropriate skills and knowledge, so that they can be easily absorbed by other eye-care institutions. We plan to set up a dedicated eye-care training facility where we want to train around 100 individuals every year. These students will be offered short term and mid term courses in eye-care and once they are through with the training, they can be easily employed in other facilities. We hope to start this training Institute by 2012.