In a significant shift towards sustainable healthcare, the Telangana government has announced a plan to establish a network of permanent eye care clinics across the state. This initiative, modeled on the successful day care cancer centres, aims to move beyond temporary eye camps and provide accessible, continuous treatment for vision-related ailments.
From Temporary Camps to a Permanent Model
Health Minister Damodar Rajanarasimha, speaking in the council on Saturday, outlined the government's vision to address the growing incidence of eye diseases linked to modern lifestyles. The new model will phase out the reliance on temporary eye camps in favour of fixed, well-equipped clinics. The central hub for this ambitious network will be the Sarojini Devi Eye Hospital in Mehdipatnam, Hyderabad.
The minister highlighted the limitations of previous programmes like 'Kanti Velugu', which primarily focused on screening and distributing spectacles. While that initiative successfully identified over 9.3 lakh individuals in need of eye surgeries, a major gap remained as many did not proceed to receive the necessary surgical treatment. "The government's goal is to ensure not just screening but full treatment, including surgeries, for all individuals with vision problems," Rajanarasimha emphasised.
Structure and Strategy of the New Initiative
To steer this transformation, the government has already appointed a nodal ophthalmology officer. A high-level technical committee has been formed and is tasked with finalising the policy and operational guidelines for the clinics. This committee will also conduct a detailed study on the prevalence of various eye diseases within Telangana to recommend sustainable treatment strategies.
The permanent clinics will follow the blueprint of the state's day care cancer centres, which have brought essential services like screening, diagnosis, and treatment closer to patients' homes, reducing the burden of travel to Hyderabad. The aim is to decentralise quality eye care and make it available at the community level.
Building on Existing Infrastructure
Telangana is not starting from scratch. The state already has dedicated eye care wings in 35 government general hospitals and 64 area hospitals, which are staffed with specialist doctors and have operational theatres. This existing framework will be integrated and strengthened under the new permanent clinic model.
The state's efforts under the National Blindness Control Programme (NBCP) have also been robust. In the 2024-25 period alone, Telangana doctors performed over six lakh cataract surgeries. Furthermore, more than 33 lakh school students were screened for vision problems, with spectacles provided to over 76,000 of them. The new network of permanent clinics is expected to build upon this foundation, ensuring that diagnosis seamlessly leads to complete treatment, ultimately creating a more resilient and accessible eye care ecosystem for all residents of Telangana.
