St John Eye Hospital

Photo © Steve Sabella

More Information:
Founded: 1882

Beginnings:
The St John Eye Hospital was the first eye hospital to be opened in the Middle East. During the war of 1948, the Hospital building was so severely damaged that it had to be rebuilt. With worldwide support and acclaim, the present Hospital was opened in 1960. Since its move to East Jerusalem 50 years ago, The St John Ophthalmic Hospital has evolved into a series of centres of ophthalmic excellence right across the occupied Palestinian territory. 

Activities:

• 98% of the patients are Palestinian.
• The Hospitals and Clinics employ 216 staff, with total annual operating costs of £6.2m.
• The 4-year Residency Programme at Jerusalem trains local doctors, investing in the shattered local infrastructure.
• The hospital group works with Israel’s world-renowned Hadassah Medical Centre to provide students with otherwise unattainable training in Ophthalmology.

HEBRON HOSPITAL

• The centre at Hebron has proven an outstanding success, and was recently awarded the status of a Hospital in its own right.
• The Hebron Hospital provides mainly secondary care, including laser, minor and cataract surgery.
• There are 500,000 residents in Hebron and its surrounding villages.
• Parts of the city are only accessible via stringent security checks and there are frequent clashes between Palestinians and the 400 Israeli Settlers living there.
• All residents of the Hebron Governorate, as well as the local population of Negev Bedouins, directly benefit from the presence of the Hospital.

GAZA

• The Clinic in Gaza has been in operation since 1992.
• There are currently 1.5 million Palestinians living in isolation inside one of the most heavily populated areas in the world.
• Shipments of medical supplies and equipment are often denied entry into the Strip.
• In 2007, the number of Gazan households earning less than 62p per day rose from 55% to 70%.  Current estimates (2009) indicate this has risen to 75%.
• In December 2008, 56% of families in West Bank and Gaza were under the poverty line.
• 15,808 Gazan patients received crucial eye care from January – December 2009.

 ANABTA

• The Clinic at Anabta opened in April 2007.
• It serves close to a million patients in the isolated North of the West Bank
• It also works in partnership with the Red Crescent Society, focusing on the referral and treatment of diabetic patients.
• The Clinic saw 11,289 patients in 2009.

OUTREACH

• Two Mobile Outreach Clinics take essential eye care to isolated communities in the West Bank.
• The first Mobile Clinic was set up in 1982 in response to the difficulties experienced by patients who could not reach the hospital in Jerusalem.
• The catchment population of the Outreach programme is potentially 2.5m people – or the entire West Bank populace.
• In 2009 St. John’s two mobile teams treated 7,773 patients, arranging 245 clinics at venues across the West Bank and Jordan Valley.
• The only alternative to the Outreach clinics are private ophthalmic clinics, usually far beyond the reach of patients.
• There are no other mobile ophthalmic services in Palestine at present. The Outreach project is more necessary now than at any other time since it began over 25 years ago.
  
  

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  Click here for a printable factsheet on St John Eye Hospital