St John Ambulance brings attention and national awareness to the work of the St John of Jerusalem Eye Hospital Group (SJEH), supporting its mission to provide sight-saving and life-changing eye care across the Holy Land.
 

St John of Jerusalem Eye Hospital Group is a centre of excellence providing expert ophthalmic care in East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza, regardless of ethnicity, religion, social class or ability to pay. The Group has been providing sight-saving care in the region since 1882 and remains committed to reaching some of the most vulnerable and underserved communities.

Today, SJEH operates through a network of four hospitals, three clinics and three mobile outreach services, providing care across the region. Its services include the main St John Eye Hospital in East Jerusalem, Hebron Hospital, the newly opened Nablus Day Hospital, the Gaza Hospital and clinics in Jerusalem, as well as mobile outreach services reaching remote and underserved communities.

The Nablus Day Hospital, which opened in 2025, represents an important development in access to surgical eye care in the northern West Bank. For the first time, patients in the area can receive surgical eye care without having to travel to Jerusalem.

In 2025, SJEH treated more than 232,000 patients and performed more than 4,500 major operations. Around half of all patients were children, highlighting the Group's significant role in providing paediatric eye care and preventing avoidable childhood blindness.

The Group's mobile outreach programme has also expanded considerably. In 2025, 27,500 patients were treated through outreach services, representing a 64% increase compared with 2024. Two new mobile outreach services were launched in the northern and southern West Bank, bringing specialist eye care closer to communities that face significant barriers to accessing hospital-based services.

In Gaza, the Hospital Group has continued to provide essential eye care despite the ongoing humanitarian crisis and the loss of normal hospital operations. SJEH has adapted its services through emergency medical interventions and outreach activities, allowing its teams to continue delivering vital eye care to displaced and vulnerable communities.

SJEH specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of conditions including cataracts, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, corneal disease and paediatric eye conditions, as well as providing complex surgical and subspecialty services. The Group also plays an important role in training doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals, helping to strengthen the eye care capacity across the region.

The Group is a teaching and training centre, supporting the development of local ophthalmologists, nurses and other healthcare professionals.

To assist St John Ambulance in its support of the St John of Jerusalem Eye Hospital Group, St John Ambulance Canada accepts donations to help sustain and expand this vital work.