A 23 member team would perform surgeries aboard the flying eye hospital, the ORBIS, and at local partnering institutions in Chennai and Salem. It is the 13th plane programme in India and the first time that the ORBIS has landed in Chennai. This first Chennai initiative was at the behest of the Regional Ophthalmic Institute. The overseas ophthalmology experts will demonstrate various clinical examination and surgical techniques, according to G.V.Rao, Indian Director of ORBIS.
ORBIS is part of a non-aligned, non profit global development organisation whose mission is to preserve and restore sight by strengthening the capacity of local partners in their efforts to prevent and treat blindness. The DC-10 jet converted into the eye hospital landed in Chennai from Chittagong, Bangladesh. The three week stopover in Chennai is part of the organisation's plan to work in developing countries to save vision through hands-on training, public health education and improved access to eye care.
Apart from performing surgeries abroad the DC10 jet, the team will also perform surgeries at the Regional Ophthalmic Institute, Chennai and TSM Hospital, Salem. The team, according to Rao, has come with a mission to reducing corneal blindness in India and supporting the partnering institutions for improved collection of cornea through the hospital based Corneal Retrieval Programme.
It is also stated by Rao that the ORBIS would forge relationship with Sankara Nethralaya and Regional Ophthalmic Institute targeting ophthalmologists and other health care professionals and transferring technical skills and knowledge necessary to prevent and treat blindness. The ORBIS has developed an ambitious plan to eliminate avoidable blindness.
Since 1982, the ORBIS has completed more than 440 programmes in 80 countries. It has trained more than 50.000 ophthalmologists, nurses, biomedical engineers and other healthcare workers who in turn provide treatment and training in their countries. Worldwide, 23,700 patients have been directly treated by ORBIS volunteer doctors and more than nine million people have received eye care from the organisation.
The DC10 jet converted into a self contained teaching hospital consists of a classroom, audio visual rooms, an editing room, sub sterile and conference rooms, a laser room, an operating room, a technical sessions classroom and a state-of-the-art communication room equipped with satellite links to establish communication worldwide on the phone and through fax and coordinate logistics of each programme during a stopover at different global airports. At the lower level of the plane is as technical training and maintenance centre.