Thaindian News

By Sunil Sharma

Chandigarh Feb.4 (ANI): Availability of top quality medical facilities and existence of a good infrastructure in Punjab is fast making this State a perfect destination for medical tourism.

The post-graduate institute of medical education and research with its cutting edge care in different areas of eye care at economical rates is one such example.

The Advanced Eye Care Centre at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research in Chandigarh offers a big hope to patients suffering from eye diseases.

The three-year-old state-of-the-art centre house facilities; equipment and expertise related to eye care and works as a tertiary centre with special focus on prevention and control of blindness.

It promises an entire gamut of latest facilities, including refractive surgery, phaco-emulsification and microsurgery.

This center has been set up with prime objective of providing luxury care, that people who need a very high-level advanced care which is not existing in this part of the country. With this objective we have started this three years ago. We have been fairly successful in providing care to patients and we are now getting patients from Delhi and Mumbai who fly in just for consultation, said Dr. Amod Gupta, the head of department of ophthalmology, PGIMER, Chandigarh.

People are coming for consultation from abroad, from U.S. and even Europe. They want to consult us here, Dr. Gupta added.

To provide its patients with world-class infrastructure, new facilities like biochemistry and a molecular research labs and a new operation theatre have been added to the centre.

Nearly, 160,000 patients visited the centre in a years time, out of which 100,000 made use of the various sub-specialty services of the Department.

A total of nearly 6,000 major and 12,000 minor procedures were carried out.

I am being treated for my eye since 4 months. Earlier, I went for treatment to a private hospital, but it was very costly and care was not so good. I have been coming here regularly for treatment. Now, I am feeling good and there is improvement, said Mishri Lal, one patient.

We are going to upgrade our technology because technology is advancing at such a rapid pace that no hospital in the world can keep pace with the technology that is being available. And at certain point of time we were ahead of John Hawkins in the U.S. as far as technology is concerned. But, here is a case of one step forward and two steps backward. Somebody moves a head of us and we have to keep chasing all the time. So, never would be in next five years to keep the technology updated, said Dr.Gupta.

To promote eye donation, a photo gallery has been set up at the centre.

And, to add a fillip to its services, doctors from the United States donated a Wi-fi cyber library while doctors from UK contributed a doctors” lounge.

More such initiatives will give a boost to medical services and infrastructure in Punjab. (ANI)