Eye Mobile Unit sets new benchmark
Eye Mobile Unit in Jalandhar has carried out 3,061 cataract surgeries in the past three years.
Led by SMO Dr Gurpreet Kaur, Jalandhar Eye Mobile Unit is one of the most prolific in the state, received District Award in 2019 and State Award in 2023, the second most active after Sangrur.
A total of 1,040 surgeries were conducted between March 2022 and March 2023, 787 from April 2023 to March 2024 and 1,234 from April 2024 to March 2025. The staff tour villages, slums and periphery of Jalandhar to provide eye treatment, free of cost surgeries, especially to underprivileged.
More than 1,200 to 1,300 patients visit OPD every month, with 213 cataract surgeries conducted in March. Other common ailments reported at the unit are refractive error, conjunctivitis, allergic conjunctivitis, dry eyes, galucoma, uveitis, pterygium, diabetic retinopathy, hypertensive retinopathy etc.
Unit staff comprises Dr Gurpreet; Surgeon and ESI SMO Dr Arun Verma; nurse Amarjit Kaur and specially-abled Rakesh Kumar.
“With obesity, hypertension and diabetes on the rise, the pattern of diseases have also morphed over years. Cataract is now being reported in the age group of 20 to 30 years. A decade ago, it was restricted to those over 50 to 60 years of age. Around 20 per cent of cataract patients are now young,” said Dr Gurpreet, adding that UV rays, ozone depletion and pollution were among prime causes.
“Refractive error is also now common among school kids. Earlier, it was reported only among adults. Many people report of ‘dry eyes’. It’s because they are glued to screens for long durations,” she said.
Dr Gurpreet added, “We get patients from as far as Nepal and Delhi. Area specific populations are susceptible to certain diseases. At Uggi and Loharan villages and at Santoshi Nagar, diabetes and hypertension are common, so we get chronic cataract cases here. In Bet belts of Zira and Gidderpindi where Hepatitis C and B are common, uveitis, pterygium (surfer’s eye) are reported. Uveitis and cataract are common among those living in slums and labourers.”
Cataracts are reported more in rural areas due to dearth of private practitioners and dry eyes among urban.
Focus on cataract surgeries
The surgeries are primarily conducted under the National Programme for Control of Blindness and Visual Impairment (NPCBVI), with cataract being a focus area. A campaign under NPCBVI, was launched in 2022 to clear the backlog of eligible cataract cases. NPCBVI is a comprehensive, India-wide initiative launched in 1976 to reduce avoidable blindness and visual impairment, aiming to reduce the prevalence of blindness to 0.25 per cent by 2025. Dr Gurpreet said there was less than 1 per cent prevalence of blindness in cases treated by her.
The unit also disburses free near vision spectacles to government school children and senior citizens.
Staff use personal vehicle
For the past 12 years, the staffers are using their private vehicles and equipment to reach patients as the old vehicle got scrapped. Though the mobile unit operates under the Civil Surgeon’s office, it lacks a full-time operation theatre. Due to the load of surgeries at the Civil Hospital, the staff has sought additional space at the ESI Hospital.
