Prema Chande on behalf of Optometric Education Society, India

Progress report: six months

A fully-fledged eye outpatient department with XOVA grant-supported instruments and optical center has been established, and an optometrist and an optician/project manager have been trained to provide primary eye care services.

The outpatient department has been fully operational since January 2018, and in 80 working days 599 patients have been examined and provided with primary eye care and refractive error services. The outpatient department provides regular eye care services at a subsidy to the villagers of Rishikesh, 6 days a week. Spectacles are being dispensed at low cost. At present, the outpatient department sees around 7 patients per day, and it is envisaged that within 2 years, it will be self-sustainable. In addition, a telemedicine service is currently being developed, and should be fully operational within the next 2 months.

In order to improve the rate of diagnosis of ocular morbidities and overall awareness, 65 community health workers and teachers have been trained for screening so far. A school screening camp was held in April 2018, providing refractive error services to 300 children, and 25% of the adult population of Rishikesh have received presbyopia services at their door step. In the months of November 2017 and March 2018, 40,000 brochures were distributed and banners were displayed, and 131 patients were operated on in two cataract camps held in December and March 2018.