Countess of Wessex pays visit to LV Prasad Eye Institute

Banjara Hills: The Countess of Wessex & Vice-Patron of the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust (QEDJT) Sophie Helen Rhys-Jones visited the LV Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI) to examine the impact of the ROP programme (Retinopathy of Prematurity), supported by the QEDJ Trust.

Premature babies are prone to Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP), which afflicts the eyes of preterm babies that have typically received specialized newborn care. In 1998, Dr Subhadra Jalali, who is currently the director of the Newborn Eye Health Alliance (NEHA) at LVPEI, was pivotal in establishing advanced ROP services at the Institute's Kallam Anji Reddy campus in Hyderabad to protect babies from going blind.

Over the last 20 years, the LVPEI team has examined more than 20,900 babies and treated more than 16,100 eyes with state-of-the-art laser techniques and surgeries. LVPEI through the efforts of Dr Jalali played a key role in setting up one of the first city-wide ROP programmes in the neonatal care units across the twin cities. Dr Tapas R Padhi is replicating a similar program at LVPEI's campus at Odisha.

The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust has been supporting the ROP programme for the states of Telangana and Odisha, since the past five years. LVPEI is one of the important partners for this programme.

During her visit, the Countess of Wessex interacted with the paediatric and the ROP team of LVPEI and discussed the way forward. Senior representatives from the Public Health Foundation (PHFI), partner agency for this program were also present. Dr Jalali will also be part of the key meetings hosted in honour of the Countess of Wessex by the British High Commissioner offices in Hyderabad and Delhi.

The LVPEI pyramidal model of eye care delivery includes a Centre of Excellence in Hyderabad, 3 tertiary centres in Bhubaneswar, Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada, 19 secondary and 180 primary care vision centres that cover the remotest rural areas in the four states of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Karnataka.