Skipper Eye-Q Rolls Out Plan to Improve Eye Care

Skipper Seil Group in partnership with Eye-Q has unveiled a stateof-the-art facility, Skipper Eye-Q Super Speciality Eye Hospital, in Lagos. The aim is to improve the standard of healthcare in Nigeria by providing standard diagnostic, medical, surgical and optical ophthalmic services. Speaking at the unveiling ceremony, Founder, Eye-Q Eye Super Speciality Hospital, India, Dr. Ajay Sharma, who rolled out various plans of the hospital to improve eye care services in Nigeria, said the hospital was established to assist Nigerians with visual impairments regain their sight and to also save them the trouble of travelling abroad for treatment. Sharma, one of the most renowned eye surgeons in India, said having such a facility in Nigeria was long overdue considering the fact that 4.5 million adults in Nigeria aged 40 years and above, were visually impaired or blind, based on the National Blindness and Visual Impairment Survey conducted in 2005-2007. He said: “In a bid to enable more people to access medical care, the JV-Skipper Eye-Q Nigeriaaims to improve medical services in the region. It is committed to deliver its services using the most advanced, progressive and highest standards of quality eye care at affordable price and we have a team of highly qualified and experienced ophthalmologists to provide the best possible service.” To support Nigeria achieve the global eye health action plan 2014–2019 which seeks to reduce avoidable visual impairment Sharma said $20 million will be invested in establishment of 30 more eye centres across the country in the next few years.Already, he said Skipper Eye-Q Super Specialty Eye Hospital had started partnering with four states in the country; Kaduna, Kano, Katsina and Cross River to improve their ophthalmology clinics and upgrade their facilities. According to him, the hospital will be involved in the training of Nigerian doctors with ultramodern facilities on surgeries and different eye care so as to enhance their performance and services. Apart from offering Corporate Social Responsibility services, Sharma also noted that the hospital will be creating jobs for Nigerians. Commissioning the hospital, Cross River State Governor, Prof. Ben Ayade said the state-ofthe-art facilities will afford Nigerian doctors opportunity to upgrade their knowledge in eye care services.