About 15 km from southwest Kolkata in a nondescript small town called Budge Budge, members of the local Rotary Club have for nearly two decades now developed a highly successful model of affordable healthcare. The state, local charity, foreign philanthropy and paying patients have all contributed.
The GRSM Rotary Eye Hospital, which began in 1996, now treats over 30,000 outpatients and conducts around 2,000 cataract operations a year. Half the operations are done free. Outpatients pay Rs 20 to register, Rs 15 for a subsequent visit and Rs 30 for a refraction test (prescription of glasses. . .
