A US-based agency is funding a dedicated unit to treat ophthalmic diseases in children in Medical College and Hospital.

The unit, to come up in the hospital’s Regional Institute of Ophthalmology (RIO), is the first collaborative project of ORBIS International, a non-profit funding agency, and a state-run hospital in the city.

“We have long felt the need for a paediatric unit in our institute, as children often suffer from various eye ailments that are unique to them,” said Gautam Bhaduri, the director of Calcutta RIO.

“This is our first joint initiative with a government hospital. A similar project has been initiated with RIO Delhi. We aim to set up at least 50 paediatric eyecare units across India, in collaboration with both government and private hospitals,” Rishi Rajborah, the programme manager of ORBIS International (India Country Office), told Metro.

“Initially, ORBIS will provide around Rs 40 lakh for infrastructure development, training of medical and paramedical staff and generating public awareness,” Bhaduri said.

“The paediatric unit will have outdoor and indoor wings, an operating theatre, a waiting room, a play room and a feeding room,” said Rakhi Banerjee, a paediatric ophthalmologist at RIO.

“Both the outdoor and the indoor wings have started. The outdoor wing remains open four days a week. The indoor wing has 12 beds,” Banerjee added.

On an average, 51 of every 10,000 patients suffering from ophthalmic problems in Calcutta are children. “Our institute has been recording a 20 per cent rise in the number of paediatric patients every year, which is alarming,” said Banerjee.

As part of the arrangement with ORBIS, the institute will help city schools through training and infrastructural support to conduct eye check-up of the students.