Guru Nanak Eye Centre
Government of NCT of Delhi

EVOLUTION OF GURU NANAK EYE CENTRE

Irwin Hospital, later renamed Lok Nayak Jai  Prakash Hospital, was founded in 1936. It had a small Department of Ophthalmology amongst its various departments. On August 1, 1958, Delhi Medical  College, later renamed Maulana Azad Medical College was established with  affiliation to Irwin Hospital. Irwin Hospital & its various departments assumed teaching responsibilities and started teaching M.B.B.S. students.  Postgraduate teaching was subsequently added in 1964. Thanks to the foresight  and efforts of its competent and dedicated faculty, the department of ophthalmology grew phenomenally and the various sub-specialties of  ophthalmology flourished. The Squint Clinic was established in 1964, the Eye  Bank in 1965, the Retina Care Unit in 1969 and the Contact Lens and Low Vision  Aid Clinic in 1971.

In view of the phenomenal growth of the  department and the efforts of the then Head of Department, Dr. S.R.K. Malik, the Govt. of India decided to upgrade the Ophthalmology department to a  full-fledged institution and Guru Nanak Eye Centre was thus conceived in 1971.  The aim was to provide the infrastructure for further development of the tremendous potential of the department and in the process have an ophthalmic  institution of a high caliber.

Initially, only the OPD block was created &  it became operational in 1977. At that time, the indoor facilities and operation theatre continued to run in Irwin Hospital. Indoor and OT facilities  were added to the GNEC campus in 1993, with the establishment of a 184- bedded  ward block, its second wing.

INDOOR  SERVICES

There are 5 general wards & 1 private ward for patients  requiring admission. There are total 212 beds with 110 beds in General wards I,  II and V for admission of male patients  & 74 beds  in General wards III and IV for  admission of female patients. A  total of  28 rooms are available in the private ward, of which 21 are  air-conditioned and 7 are non-AC rooms. The charge for the AC room is Rs. 650/-  per day & the charges for the Non-AC room is Rs. 450/- per day. The check  out time for the private rooms is 11.00 am.

COMMUNITY  SERVICES PROVIDED BY GURU NANAK EYE CENTRE

Guru Nanak Eye Centre carries out  ophthalmic check-up, investigations and surgery for cataract with intraocular  lens implantation for patients of cataract under aegis of National Programme  for Control of Blindness, as cataract is the most common cause of blindness  India and worldwide, immediately following refractive errors. Following formal  inauguration by the Hon’ble Health Minister, the pre-registration of patients  is done on two days and these patients follow up with respective OPDs on the  dates assigned to them. Following detailed check-up, and relevant  investigations, the cataract surgery with intraocular lens implantation is done  free of cost. The patients are closely followed up till refraction and  prescription of glasses is done.

Additionally, OPD Camps are carried out at  Primary Health Centres allied with the Maulana Azad Medical College and at  distant sites which are otherwise underserved and unpriveleld and have less  accessibility to Ophthalmic Health facilities, in association of programmes  carried by the Delhi government.

The free medicines are given to the  patient from the Hospital pharmacy. Additionally, material for surgery is  predominantly provided by Medical Store of the hospital.

AWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS

The Faculty and resident  doctors of the Guru Nanak Eye Centre are par excellence in academics. A number  of orations and paper presentations are done at State, National and  International Conferences. About 20% of All India Ophthalmic Society Awards are  conferred upon the Faculty and resident doctors of this hospital. In addition  to this, the doctors have also won awards in Surgical Video presentations and ophthalmic  photography. Guru Nanak Eye Centre has made a great name in the field of  National and International publications highlighting contributions of this  Centre to literature.

HEADS OF THE DEPARTMENT