AIOS and IMA organise simultaneous eye check-up camp at 200 diabetes screening clinics across India

Bollywood stars Karisma Kapoor and Sidharth Malhotra come together in support of AIOS’ National Diabetes Eye Screening Clinic initiative

Bollywood stars, Karisma Kapoor and Sidharth Malhotra joined hands with the All India Ophthalmological Society (AIOS) and the Indian Medical Association (IMA) to spread awareness on diabetic retinopathy, a condition arising due to diabetes and can cause permanent blindness to an individual if left untreated.

AIOS has organised 200 diabetic eye screening clinics (DESC) across India to screen the diabetics and empower them to take timely measures. The camps will be held across all cities in India from November 14 to November 21 in order to mark ‘World Diabetes Week’. In Mumbai there will be close to 15 clinics examining and explaining to the patients about the perils of Diabetes. Saifee Hospital, Mumbai Retina Centre, PD Hinduja Hospital and KJ Somaiya Medical College are amongst the few places where Mumbaikars can visit and get themselves checked.

Commenting on the initiative, Dr Quresh B Maskati, Immediate Past President – AIOS and National Convenor DESC, AIOS said, “The AIOS is the world’s largest national body of eye surgeon’s with almost 20,000 members. We are conducting these camps simultaneously across 200 diabetic eye screening clinics with each running from one to seven days during the World Diabetes Week and we aim to screen 20,000-25,000 diabetics in a week. The data from each patient is being preserved and will be later analysed and presented to the Department of Non-communicable Diseases, Ministry Of Health, Govt of India within a month so that policy decisions can be made based on our recommendations.”

Speaking on the association, Bollywood beauty Kapoor said, “I am grateful for the opportunity to help raise awareness on this common yet too often neglected and preventable issue. I would urge people who suffer from diabetes to visit these clinics for free testing and continue to do so year-on-year.”

Bollywood heartthrob, Malhotra said, “In our industry and with a lot of professionals, it is quite common to develop unhealthy eating habits, suffer stress and lead a sedentary lifestyle due to the hectic pace of life. All of these compound to causing diabetes and it can affect someone as young as a 20-year old. I am happy to be part of All India Ophthalmological Society and the Indian Medical Associations’ initiative to raise awareness on diabetes and diabetic retinopathy. I hope people from across the country will take advantage of the free eye testing clinics being organised by these medical bodies and take care of their vision.”

A panel discussion was organised by AIOS on November 16, 2015 at JW Marriott, Juhu to discuss and dissect the hazards caused by one of the deadliest disease affecting millions across the globe. Kapoor and Malhotra formed an elite panel alongside highly qualified doctors from the Indian Medical Association, JJ Hospital and All India Ophthalmological Society and raised concerns with respect to diabetic retinopathy. They spoke at length about the dangers of the disease and stressed on the importance of visiting a diabetes specialist and an eye surgeon at regular intervals. To make things easier for everyone, the panelists urged everyone to visit the numerous clinics set up by AIOS in order to prevent permanent loss of eyesight.

The panelists also included: Dr Debashis Bhattacharya, President, All India Ophthalmological Society; Dr Yogesh C Shah, Honorary Treasurer, All India Ophthalmological Society; Dr Marthanda Pillai, President, National Indian Medical Association; Dr TP Lahane, Dean, JJ Hospital (Mumbai); Dr Quresh B Maskati, Immediate Past President – AIOS and National Convenor DESC, AIOS; Dr Himanshu Mehta, Member – Managing Committee, Bombay Ophthalmologists Association; Dr NSD Raju, Past President of AIOS and Convenor, IMA Prevention of Diabetic Retinopathy Project.

The All India Ophthalmological Society aims to examine more than 20,000 diabetics right from Kashmir to Andaman and Nicobar Islands free of cost. Doctors stationed at these camps will screen patients for changes in the retina due to diabetes referred to as diabetic retinopathy in medical terminology. The ones who get detected with the ailment are referred to charitable and government centres for further evaluation and treatment.