Sankara Eye Hospital will open its 10th branch at Jaipur next month.

According to Dr..R.V. Ramani, Founder and Managing Trustee, Sankara Eye Foundation said, the hospital constructed at a cost of Rs. 50 crores will have 250 beds. “In this 200 will be for people from economically weaker section of the society and the remaining 25 for others,” he said.

“The paramedical staff for the hospital have been selected. Most of them are from economically poor background from rural Rajasthan About 40 girls who have completed their Grade 12 were selected through a written exam. During the training period they were given a stipend. After the successful completion of the training, they were given certificates and they will start working in the hospital,” he added.

All Sankara hospitals work in 80:20 model, where 80 per cent of the patients are from economically weaker side and from rural areas (who receive completely free treatment) and 20 per cent from affluent classes who could afford the treatment. “Every day 500 free eye surgeries are being performed by doctors in our hospital across the country. Out of this 250 are performed in Coimbatore alone. In India 45 million people are visually challenged and 12 million people are totally blind. Eighty per cent of blindness can either be cured or prevented,” Dr. Ramani said.

Sankara Eye hospital was started in Coimbatore 40 years ago and currently they have nine hospitals across the country -, all working on the 80:20 model. Till date they have performed 1.6 million free surgeries. The hospital is also planning to open three more branches – in Indore, Panvel (Maharashtra) and Hyderabad.