Al-Shifa Trust treats 1.26 million patients in FY2025-26

Spokesman Report RAWALPINDI :Al-Shifa Trust's network of seven eye hospitals provided healthcare services to more than 1.26 million people during FY2025-26 as it announced plans to expand outpatient services at its Rawalpindi hospital to meet rising demand. According to the Trust's latest performance report, 1,267,657 patients benefited from its services. Community outreach remained a key component of operations, with 664,668 people examined through eye screening and medical camps. In addition 37,739 individuals were screened for diabetes and hypertension to support the early detection of conditions that can lead to vision loss. Services provided to patients also included outpatient consultations, refraction, dispensing of spectacles, follow-up visits, diagnostic investigations, laser procedures, general surgeries and other specialized ophthalmic care. Talking to media, Trust President Major General (Retired) Rehmat Khan said the growing patient load had prompted Al-Shifa Trust to expand its outpatient department. A tower originally built for income-generating purposes will be converted into a state-of-the-art OPD-3. The new facility will cater to 800 additional patients daily, increasing the hospital's outpatient capacity to 5,000 patients a day. 'OPD-3 will ease the burden on OPD-1 and OPD-2, as the policy of free for all with respect and dignity is providing a unique opportunity to people who cannot afford quality care,' Rehmat Khan said. He said the Trust's hospitals performed 55,314 cataract surgeries during the year, while 784 corneal transplants were carried out. Specialists also managed 1,548 cases of Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP), helping prevent avoidable blindness among premature infants. The Trust spent nearly Rs5 billion during FY2025-26 and expects to require around Rs6 billion in the next financial year to maintain services, strengthen facilities, expand outreach programmes and meet rising demand. Rehmat Khan said the completion of Al-Shifa Lahore Eye Hospital would help share the patient burden, while the Trust was also planning to establish a major eye hospital in Quetta to meet future needs. He said the Trust's work was made possible by the generous support of Pakistanis, particularly overseas donors. 'As the challenge of blindness is immense, society, philanthropists and individual donors are requested to support the cause,' he said.