Shri Ganapati Netralaya at a glance

Shri Ganapati Netralaya (SGN) is a non-profit, multi-speciality eye institute at Jalna, Maharshtra run by the Mahyco Research Foundation Trust. The centre began its operations on Dec 31st, 1992, with the objective of providing comprehensive, high quality eye care to India’s rural population at an affordable price. The hospital is built over 1,75,000 sq. feet with cutting edge technology and modelled after the world’s finest eye hospitals serving all sub-specialities of Ophthalmology.

Brief History
It was the vision of Dr. Badrinarayan Barwale to provide state of the art specialty eye care at affordable cost to the people who were suffering from avoidable blindness in the backward hinterland region of Maharashtra. He visited many large eye hospitals in the country including L V Prasad Eye Hospital in Hyderabad and Sankara Netralaya in Chennai before finalizing the model hospital of SGN. In collaboration with Dr. S S Badrinath, Chief of Sankara Nethralaya, the first services were started in a small building in Jalna and later shifted to the present building designed and built as per the need of the hospital.

Facilities Available
The hospital has facility for treatment of all types of eye problems starting with refractive errors to complex trauma cases. The sub-specialities include Cataract, Glaucoma, Cornea, Eye Bank, Uvea, Vitreo Retina, Pediatric Ophthalmology & Strabismus, Orbit, Oculoplasty.
The hospital has the following facilities:
• 10 Operation Theatres with facility to perform up to 50 surgeries a day
• Excimer laser and Femto laser LASIK treatment for correction of refractive errors without using blades.
• 95 Beds divided between wards and rooms
• Laboratory Services
• Pharmacy
• Optical Shop with glass manufacturing facility
• Mobile vans for screening patients in the villages
• Eye bank – one of the largest in Maharashtra

Subordinate services
• Contact lenses
• Low vision clinic
• Prosthesis clinic
• Orthoptics clinic
Treatment at the hospital is led by 14 Medical Consultants across specialities and supported by about 175 dedicated staff.
Dekhon Centres – The hospital has three sub-centres at Washim, Malkapur & Shrirampur which have catered to more than 1.15 lakh patients and operated more than 7500 patients. These sub-centres are fully functional units but with limited sub-specialities.
Community Ophthalmology: The hospital conducts a number of camps in the villages and towns to screen the people for blindness and provide affordable treatment. After the screening the patients are given treatment at the base hospital if necessary. Basic refractive error correction is done at the vision centres.
It has tied up with an NGO, Opernation Eyesight Universal with the objective of creating awareness and treating preventable blindness in selected villages under two clusters supported by vision centres at Badnapur and Rajur to cover 40 villages. Seven villages have been declared avoidable blindness free so far.
Netralaya has been a part of various eye care schemes launched by Maharashtra Govt. like Rashtriya Swasthya Beema Yojana, Sarvashiksha Abhiyan, Cataract-free Maharashtra, School Eye camps for identifying preventable blindness at an early stage under Sarvashiksha Abhiyan.
The hospital has recently been adopted by the Government for the MJPJAY and PMJAY schemes for providing free treatment to the low income group of people.
Besides these, the hospital has tie up with a number of TPAs and Insurance companies for cashless insurance facility for the patients.
Under the IPF scheme, we perform 25% of the surgeries and special procedures free of cost for the needy, neglected, poor population under MPT act, who otherwise may not have availed of treatment.
DNB & Fellowship programme
Hospital trains the medical graduates for the Diplomate of National Board (Ophthalmology) with an approved intake of 4 per year.
Fellowship Program
The hospital offers Post Diploma Fellowship programme for various sub-specialities of Ophthalmology.
Optometry College:
Shri Ganapati Netralaya College of Optometry offers four year professional degree (B.Sc.Optometry) affiliated to MUHS, Nashik, with an intake capacity of 20 per year.
NABH ACCREDITATED HOSPITAL
The Hospital has been awarded the NABH (National accreditation Board for Hospital & Healthcare) with effect from 27th July 2019 for 3 years as per the Eye care standards and happens to be one among the few hospitals in Maharashtra to have the honour. Since NABH is a continuous quality improvement process, desktop surveillance of NABH inspection has been completed successfully in the year 2021 by the external assessor appointed by the Quality Council of India, New Delhi.
GREEN HOSPITAL CONCEPT
A green hospital building is one which utilizes natural resources in an efficient, environment-friendly manner. Hospital has 376 kwh solar panel system out of which hospital has installed 176 kwh solar panel system in the year 2021
EYE BALL COLLECTION & CORNEAL TRANSPLANTATION
The hospital receives the eye ball almost from all the districts of Maharashtra. Hospital has collected 7,428 eyeball and has done 3,347 successful corneal transplantations.
EYE DONATIONS FORTNIGHT PROGRAMME
Every year hospital celebrates “Eye Donation Fortnight”, between August 25 and 08 September to honour the family members of those who donate eyes.
Source – subbarao.appemane@mahyco.com