Summer Internship at Dr. Shroff's Charity Eye Hospital

Under the Summer Internship Programme, our School placed us at Dr. Shroff's Charity Eye Hospital located in the bustling Daryaganj area of Old Delhi, from May 27, 2013 to May 31, 2013.

A fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, Dr. S. P.Shroff established Dr. Shroff's Charity Eye Hospital at Daryaganj, Delhi in 1914 making it the first hospital of it's kind in north India. Dedicating it solely to eye care, he equipped it with the best of instruments and facilities available at that time. Over a period of more than a century, the charitable hospital has extended itself into a full network of hospitals located in Rajasthan, Alwar, Rampur Maniharan, Meerut Lakhimpur Kheri and also runs satellite consultancy services across north India. This network has provided service to more than two lakh people. The institution achieves community services by making appeals to the public for donations so that patients who are financially weak can be provided with the required services.

Our internship started with a tour of the hospital. We were placed under Dr. Kiran Mehta and Ms. Nidhi It was a big hospital and we spent the whole day understanding what all happens in the hospital and where. We saw the paediatric building, the different wards, and the operation theatre from outside. We also met some doctors who briefed us about various procedures possible on the eye.

The next day we were allocated our duties.

1. Madhurima and Nupur were in the quality department and went to the general OPD and got the patient satisfaction forms filled up. The response was mixed.

2. Ria went to the wards and interviewed people and

3. Anisha went to the paediatric building to observe the children.

The next day,

1. Madhurima and Nupur again got the patient satisfaction forms filled up but this time in the paediatric department . The response was a little different. I met people who were visiting the hospital for ten years.

2. Anisha and Ria did case- studies on some of the patients in the wards.

Third Day-

Madhurima and Nupur went to do some case studies. We came across a baby Mohammad, who was six months old and had had an operation for cataract. This child had this problem since birth but the parents got to know about it late. Mohammad has a twin brother. Later that day we went to the pediatric building, where Ria and Anisha were already present and we got the children do some painting. The paintings came out very pretty.

We thank Dr. Kiran Mehta and Ms. Nidhi who helped us a lot in getting to know the hospital and the people there. On the last day of the programme we repeated our duties and gathered the points covered.

The charity with it's cleanliness, care and compassion is a memory we will always remember. The personal ways in which the patients, ranging from infants to the aged, were looked after, is a sight not to be forgotten. After interacting with patients and chatting about their problems we felt happier for the few joyous moments that we perhaps brought in their lives.