KALINGA EYE HOSPITAL

This selection of images were taken whilst volunteering at Kalinga Eye Hospital in Orissa, India. These images are from the same project that I won a Wellcome Image Award in 2017.

I chose these 5 as they not only continue to tell the story of the individuals who needed the help and support that the project gave. They also demonstrate that in an area of the world where there is so little, the time, care and compassion from the doctors and volunteers can really make a dramatic change to the lives of others.

Most of the outreaches bring care to remote, rural villages where the patients do not otherwise have access to quality care. This first image is one of the ladies in the queue outside the school where the makeshift clinic was based. The outreach team usually provides 100-300 patients with care each day. With so many patients waiting to be seen by the medical staff the queue was very long leading to a lengthy wait for treatment, all the while this lady was still smiling while standing in line.

The gentleman in this second image is sat inside one the classrooms being used as a clinic, patiently awaiting treatment following his initial assessment. I was attracted to this unusual scene, with the patient surrounded by all the markings of the school, and only his dark glasses suggesting the reason for his presence. Here, lessons are still written on the chalkboard, while school desks and furniture have been moved aside, hastily repurposing the room. I was particularly drawn to the juxtaposition between the classroom environment and its makeshift medical purpose, something I find even more striking given the hospital environment I now work in.

This third image shows one of the other male patients I encountered being assessed for cataract surgery in his left eye. The doctors and nurses use a system to mark the patient’s eye for treatment with the simple application of some Micropore tape indicating the site of interest. Following his assessment, the patient will travel to the hospital where surgeons will operate on the marked eye.

Two delighted patients in the forth image post treatment at Kalinga Eye Hospital. Like many patients I encountered, they had slowly been losing their vision over time, with some of the patients having been blind for 10 or more years. After a short 10 minute procedure the sight they lost was totally restored. This miracle happened every day with patients most in need being taken by bus to the nearest hospital located 1-8 hours away, receiving treatment that was previously inaccessible, then being returned home the next day having had their lives transformed.

In this last image you see one of the patients having returned home after her long journey to and from the hospital. She’s photographed here following treatment with one of the nurses giving their ongoing care, support and friendship. A month on from their initial visit the clinic returns to the village providing postoperative care and ensuring that recoveries are going well and any complications can be addressed.