Sankara Nethralaya, Chennai

Chennai based Sankara Nethralaya, run by Medical and Vision Research Foundation, has been synonymous to eye-care since its inception in 1978. The Hospital offers best treatment in all eye related specialties like cataract, retina, cornea to ocular oncology— all at affordable cost and even free of cost to the deserving cases. On an average, 1200 patients walk through its doors and 100 surgeries are performed everyday.

Significant Achievements in the Last Year

The Hospital has launched mobile refraction van units in Chidambaram, Thangachimadam, Thiruvaiyaru (Tamil Nadu) and Vidharbha (Maharashtra) in association with MS Swaminathan Research Foundation and Essilor India Limited. It has started Dr G Sitalakshmi Memorial Clinic for ocular surface disorders and an exclusive centre for Osteo Odonto Kerato Prosthesis (OOKP) called Professor G Falcinelli Modified Osteo-odonto Keratoprosthesis Centre. The Hospital has opened new hospitals in Rameshwaram and Kolkata.

Accreditation and Certifications

Sankara Nethralaya is the first eye Hospital in Asia to get ISO certification. The Hospital has obtained the re-certification from Bureau Veritas— a certification in the fields of Quality, Health, Safety, Environment, and Social Responsibility (QHSE-SR). The Hospital has recently received NABL certification for its laboratory services.

New Technologies

"At the Hospital we constantly strive to set new benchmarks to retain and improve the quality of eye-care" - Dr Lingam Gopal Chairman Sankara Netralaya Chennai

Sankara Nethralaya has always been on the forefront of acquiring and using the latest technology for delivering quality eye-care. Two significant introductions in the last year have been balloon dacryoplasty and sutureless vitreous surgery.

The Hospital has implemented rural teleophthalmology project which caters the ophthalmic need of rural masses from remote areas.

Biggest Challenges

Recruitment and retention of manpower, especially on the administrative side has been a constant challenge for the Hospital. However, it has managed to retain the staff through effective employee relation and catering to their needs.

Improved Productivity and Output

Sankara Nethralaya has invested around Rs 4 crore in the IT infrastructure. The Hospital is maintained by using HMIS developed in-house. An in-house Electronic Medical Records system is also under implementation.

Patient Friendliness

"At the Hospital we constantly strive to set new benchmarks to retain and improve the quality of eye-care," says Dr Lingam Gopal, Chairman, Sankara Nethralaya. The case in point is the recent introduction of disposable dresses for all inpatients by the Hospital thereby reducing the risk of infection. The Hospital also follows stringent quality audits. Feedback from patients is collected everyday and the measures are discussed internally to identify areas of improvement.

CSR

Each year, 50 per cent of OPD patients and 35 per cent of surgeries are done totally free of cost for the rural indigent. In addition to cataract surgeries even complicated surgical procedures such as corneal grafting and vitreoretinal surgery are also offered free of cost to destitute patients. The Hospital runs mobile refraction van that dispenses spectacles at an affordable cost, ranging between Rs 80 to Rs 250, for these people.

Long -term Vision

The Hospital endeavors to carry out India centric research that would aim to find solutions to eye conditions which are prevalent in the country. "With the ideals and vision of the Founder and Chairman Dr SS Badrinath clearly engraved in the philosophy and functioning of Sankara Nethralaya, we continuously strive to extend our competence to provide quality eye-care to the society at large. With this single concept in mind, there is continuous stress on self-improvement through education and research," says Dr Gopal.