News Letters

1. Muzaffarabad and Quetta Hospital construction to start by early 2008

2. Expansion of Rawalpindi Hospital Infrastructure

• Subspecialty block completed and furnished with modern equipment
• International Boys and Girls Hostel in progress

3. Ophthalmic Research Institute Launched

• Establishment of Ophthalmic Research Institute
• Prof. Goldschimdt inducted as research faculty

4. Pakistan Institute of Ophthalmology

• Five years Development Plan approved by Board of Trustees
• Outstanding performance of NAP Faculty in Contact Lens Education
• Professors in Ophthalmology

5. Board of Trustees and Board of Governors Combined Meeting

6. New Initiatives by Public Affairs Committee

7. Ophthalmological Society of Pakistan awards Gold Medal to President Al-Shifa

8. Fund-raising campaign for Muzaffarabad Hospital Launched -Successful tour of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia by President Al-Shifa

9. Patient Column

10. Visitors

11. Hospital progress

12. Future events

13. Appeal

• Muzaffarabad Hospital: MoU signed, Land acquired and construction plan finalized
An MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) was signed between the Secretary Health AJK and President Al-Shifa Trust Eye Hospitals on 10th November. According to the agreement the AJK Government has granted free prime land of 50 canals to Al-Shifa Trust for the construction of a 100 beds state of the art Eye Hospital at AJK. The hospital construction will start much earlier than originally planned in our Master Plan. This is because of dire need of these services in view of devastation of infrastructure due to last earthquake.

The picturesque valley of Muzaffarabad at night

“The construction work to be undertaken by Frontier Works Organization (FWO) will be started by March 2008 and will be completed in two years time. The architect has been selected and overall design has been finalized. This hospital will cost about Rs250 million” said the President of Al-Shifa. He said that the hospital will be on the same standard as Al-Shifa Trust Eye Hospital Rawalpindi, which is the mother Hospital and would provide comprehensive eye care services to the people of AJK, as well as to the Northern Areas like Gilgit etc.. Al-Shifa Trust is already popular here because most of the eye patients from here are regularly treated at its Rawalpindi Hospital and moreover its community outreach program is conducting free eye camps in the far flung areas of AJK screening and treating thousands of patients at the camps.

Executive Director Al-Shifa Trust Eye hospital Rawlapindi informed that apart from providing quality eye care services, the hospital will also provide employment opportunities to the local masses. “At least 300 people would be provided jobs at the hospital” said Brig. Rizwan.
• Quetta Hospital Construction to start in April 2008
Our readers may recall, that land for Quetta Hospital has already been acquired from Govt. of Baluchistan under an MoU signed in June 2006. The design of hospital has been finalized and FWO (Frontier Works Organization) has been tasked to undertake construction from April 2008. This hospital will also be the most modern eye hospital of the province which will cater for the needs of the province as well as patients from adjoining Afghanistan.

• Establishment of Ophthalmic Research Institute
Although Al-Shifa has been involved in number of national and international research initiatives with the help of international scientists, but these efforts have been sporadic. In order to consolidate and focus all types of research activities under one umbrella, Al-Shifa has now finally set-up Al-Shifa Ophthalmic Research Institute (ORI) in association with a renowned national scientific research organization by the name of NESCOM. An MoU has already been signed between the two organizations in late October. The ORI will strive to build the capacity of Al-Shifa in applied research both in terms of infrastructure and skilled manpower. Lt. General (retired) Burney has specially been requested by Al-Shifa to oversee the progress of this collaboration.

• Research Activities

• During the month of October, Prof. Pablo Goldschmidt from National Institute of Ophthalmology, Paris and Prof. Tayyab Afghani from Al-Shifa undertook the last leg of 3-years joint multi-center research on the control of Trachoma. The study was conducted in the remote villages of District Attock. As a result of this study, the first ever one-day eye drop treatment of trachoma has been launched worldwide (Azithromycin eye drops).
• Prof. Pablo also delivered a lecture on viral infections. He also evaluated the facilities for Amniotic Membrane Transplant at Al-Shifa and while expressing his satisfaction, he was very optimistic that soon the stem-cell transplant technique will be launched by Cornea Department.
• The latest treatment of one of the corneal diseases (Keratoconus) known as riboflavin-ultraviolet A-induced cross-linking is now underway at Cornea Department. This will help in avoiding cold-knife or laser surgery in number of cases.

• Five years Development Plan approved by Board of Trustees
Recently Board of Trustees approved a five years Development Plan prepared by senior faculty of PIO. The plan emphasizes on measures to achieve self-sufficiency by PIO. During the first five years, the target has been set to generate 40% of its expenses by its own resources. This will be mostly done through conducting need-based, market-oriented training programs for national and international candidates in various disciplines in the field of ophthalmology.
• First Professional Examination of BSc. Optometry & Orthoptics
Recently University of Health Sciences conducted the First Annual Exam for BSc Optometry and Orthoptics. This four-years course is run by Al-Shifa-Lions National Academy of Paramedics (AL-NAP). Reputed Professor of Ophthalmology from Lahore, Prof. Khalil Rana was the External Examiner. Feedback information reveals that students have performed very well.

• Outstanding performance of NAP Faculty in Contact Lens Education
As a part of continuous professional development, we always encourage our faculty to continuously sharpen their professional skills. This year, six of our NAP faculty appeared in Australia-based International Accreditation Examination for Contact Lens Educators. The results have been outstanding. All have qualified for Fellowship (FIACLE). Ms. Kashmala Rafique has stood first by securing 75% marks. Others who have qualified are Ms Samina Naseer, Ms Sarah Iqbal, Mr. Rashid, Mr. Muzammel and Mr. Umair. Well done!

• Professor of Ophthalmology
Recently, Dr. Tayyab Afghani, a senior faculty member of PIO has been elevated to the prestigious post of Prof. of Ophthalmology by Pakistan Medical and Dental Council. Prof. Tayyab a leading expert in Orbital Plastic Surgery in Pakistan, has many national and international publications to his credit. Now Al-Shifa has the privilege of having four professors of ophthalmology, and one Associate Professor, a unique distinction indeed. These include Professor Jahangir Akhtar, Professor Wajid Ali Khan, Professor Nadeem Qureshi, Professor Tayyab Afghani and Associate Professor Dr. Ayesha Khan.

• First international Paramedics Conference
Al-Shifa is one of the pioneers in the field of training for ophthalmic Paramedics. To further highlight the role of qualified ophthalmic midlevel professionals (OMP), an international conference is being planned during the first quarter of 2008.

A combined meeting of Board of Trustees and Board of Governors of Al-Shifa Trust were held for the first time on 23rd October 2007. Important decisions arrived at are as follows: -

o Development Plan of Pakistan institute of ophthalmology for next five years was approved.
o The Plan for construction of Plazas as a part of Al-Shifa Trust self-reliance strategy was also unanimously approved.
o It was decided to conduct a user survey as a part of evaluation of our paramedic training program.
o To encourage better performance by Al-Shifa Cost-Centers, special allowances and incentives were approved for its employees.

New initiatives by Al-Shifa Public Affairs Committee

Mr. Mushahid Hussain Sayed who is Chairperson of Al-Shifa Public Affairs Committee along with Senator Mrs. Nilofar Bakhtiar as an active member have worked quite hard on giving a new look to Al-Shifa Marketing Strategy. New initiatives have been planned.
• Diplomats from various countries, major donors and friends of Al-Shifa have been invited to visit Al-Shifa near the end of this year.
• Publicity material like posters, brochures and video of Al-Shifa has been updated to meet the current marketing demands.
• A Telethon on a an international TV Channel to raise funds for Al-Shifa is planned in the first quarter of 2008