The Regional Institute of Ophthalmology, Thiruvananthapuram is the highest government level referral hospital in the field of
ophthalmology
Ophthalmology (, ) is the branch of medicine that deals with the diagnosis, treatment, and surgery of eye diseases and disorders.
An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Following a ...
in
Kerala state
Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...
. As of 2021, it is the only
Regional Institute of Ophthalmology in Kerala. The hospital is located near the General Hospital at Red Cross Road in
Thiruvananthapuram city. ''Sunayanam'', the first mobile eye hospital in Kerala operates under Thiruvananthapuram Regional Institute of Ophthalmology.
Daily about 600 people are consulted as referrals, and about 200 people come in directly for treatment without a referral.
History
The hospital was established as Government Eye Hospital in 1905, during the reign of king
Sree Moolam Thirunal of
Travancore
The kingdom of Travancore (), also known as the kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor () or later as Travancore State, was a kingdom that lasted from until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvanan ...
. With the establishment of the
Thiruvananthapuram Medical College in 1951, it became the ophthalmology department of the Medical College. In 1995, the hospital was separated from Medical college and upgraded to the Regional Institute of Ophthalmology, an autonomous institution.
Courses offered
* Post graduate degree in ophthalmology
* Bachelor's degree in optometry
Development
The new Specialty Block of the Regional Institute of Ophthalmology, Thiruvananthapuram was inaugurated in February 2019.
Punarjyothi
On 13 February 2019, Kerala government and the RIO Trivandrum Alumni Association jointly started a rehabilitation center for visually challenged patients under the ''Punarjyothi'' project.
References
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Hospitals in Thiruvananthapuram
Eye hospitals in India