New facility to begin operations in Ramadan
Haveli Lakha
The Al-Shifa Trust Eye Hospital in Haveli Lakha is complete and will open during Ramadan. It will offer specialised eye care to nearly 150,000 residents who currently lack adequate access to these services.
The hospital will serve approximately 1.6 million people across Depalpur Tehsil, including areas of Okara, Pakpattan, and Sahiwal districts. It features modern infrastructure, advanced diagnostic equipment, and trained clinical staff.
Talking to mediamen, President of the Al-Shifa Trust Maj. Gen (Retd) Rehmat khan said the facility can accommodate 130 to 150 outpatient visits and perform 10 to 15 surgeries daily in its initial phase.
The Haveli Lakha facility is the seventh hospital in the Al-Shifa Trust network, which also includes locations in Rawalpindi, Sukkur, Kohat, Muzaffarabad, Chakwal, and Gilgit. Over the past three decades, the network has treated thousands of patients daily, expanding ophthalmic care in underserved regions, he added.
Maj. Gen (Retd) Rehmat khan said the state-of-the-art hospital will provide services in cornea, retina, glaucoma, cataract, orbit and oculoplastic surgery, as well as ocular oncology right at the doorstep of those who need it most.
He said specialised care will be free for low-income patients, with subsidised care available for others. The new facility will reduce the need for residents to travel to cities such as Lahore or Rawalpindi for specialised eye care, lowering travel costs and treatment delays.
Pakistan faces a significant burden of visual impairment. International health estimates report that about 1.76 million people are blind, and nearly 24.5 million have some form of visual impairment. With only 15 ophthalmologists per million people, specialised eye care services are under considerable strain.
Cataract is the leading cause of blindness in Pakistan, responsible for over half of all cases. Cost is the main barrier to treatment in about 76 percent of cases, highlighting the need to expand affordable services in rural and semi-urban areas.
Local residents have welcomed the new hospital, calling it a critical step toward addressing longstanding healthcare gaps in the region.
