ST. JOHN OF JERUSALEM EYE HOSPITAL
The Provincial Priory of Durham is pleased to support the St John of Jerusalem Eye Hospital.
While the medieval hospital had stood in the Muristan of the Old City, in 1882 a new hospital was built the on Hebron Road opposite Mount Zion, this moving briefly to Watson House and Strathearn House between 1949 and 1960. With increasing clinical demand, in 1960 it was rebuilt in its present location in Sheikh Jarrah in East Jerusalem. St John provides comprehensive ophthalmic facilities to all peoples of East Jerusalem and the West Bank and Gaza. Its doors are open to all, although practically all patients are Palestinians, and most are close to, or below, the poverty line.
The total catchment population numbers over 4.3 million, of which about 1.2 million people live in refugee camps in the west Bank and the Gaza strip, and the vast majority are dependent on international aid. The Hospital Group is formed of the main hospital in Jerusalem, a smaller St John unit in Anabta in the north, the Hebron clinic in the south, and a clinic in Gaza city. St John has a new self-contained hospital in Gaza, with an independent hospital in this area being essential to the future of eye care across the occupied territories given the vicissitudes of travel between Gaza and Israel.
The Hospital group provides treatment for all forms of eye disease, including childhood disorders such as cataract and squint, a 24 hour service for all medical and surgical emergencies (such as facial and globe injuries), corneal and external eye disease expertise (allergic eye disease and acquired corneal disorders and injuries being particularly common), treatment for all retinal disorders (with a dedicated retinal treatment suite), including diabetic eye disease, cataract and glaucoma services, to name but a few. With the nursing school of St John within the Jerusalem hospital, diagnostic facilities, on-site pharmacy, theatre suites in Jerusalem and Anabta, and in-house bioengineering support services (and all provided with local expertise) the Hospital is equipped to deal with the high ophthalmic work in this population.