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A team of London eye specialists has saved the sight of hundreds of people in West Africa by performing vital operations for free.
The 10 doctors and nurses flew to Ghana to give more than 200 patients surgery for cataracts.
Cathy Asante, a sister at the Western Eye Hospital in Marylebone, persuaded colleagues at Imperial College Healthcare Trust and Moorfields Eye Hospital to travel with her after hearing that the only eye specialist in a region with three million people had died.
Thousands had cataracts, a clouding of the lens which has caused two million of Africa's six million blindness cases. Only about 100 in every million get a cataract operation each year.
Mrs Asante, 49, from Woolwich, moved to London from Ghana 21 years ago. She set up a charity, Touch of Light, to fund the trip and hopes to organise others. She said: "I had sleepless nights worrying about what to do. I mentioned it to my colleagues and they were so enthusiastic I broke down in tears."
Ali Mearza, consultant ophthalmic surgeon at Imperial College healthcare, led the team. They operated on 202 patients in two weeks at Ho Regional Hospital in the Volta area - a three-hour drive from the closest ophthalmologist.Mr Mearza said: "To be able to save the sight of so many people was a wonderfully rewarding experience."
Reader views (4)
Jilly's comment is very unfair. For her info there was no
tax payers money involved in the trip.
Alex, Dagenham
- Alex Bruce-Konuah, Dagenham, Essex, UK, 12/11/2009 22:15
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The Western Eye Hospital where many of these staff work actually only have a wait of approximately 6 weeks for cataract surgery now (because of years of hard work as well as targeting of funds towards cataract care by the NHS) so for that particular procedure in that particular hospital there is certainly not a massive backlog. There may be problems in delivery of care for other types of surgery in other hospitals in the UK but this should not detract from the fact these individual nurses and doctors are prepared to give up their own time to do something positive for people in other parts of the world.
- Clare Roberts, London, 09/11/2009 17:11
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Perhaps Jilly, because like hundreds of other medical volunteers in this country and elsewhere, they actually do this in their spare time. They give up their holidays and I suspect most of them would have used their own money to fund the trip.
The English public also volunteered their funds for this expedition, it was not your tax money that was spent, but money raised through charitable fund raising that appealed to a public who were happy to contribute.
What is objectionable about charitable work ? I'd be ready to bet that the same doctors and nurses also do a lot of charitable work here in their own community.
- Ed, London, 06/11/2009 14:05
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Why are these doctors not working to clear the massive backlog of patients in England. How dare they seek glory in another country when there are thousands of people suffering because of extended waiting lists for their services in English hospitals.
Its clear that we always fail to look after our own people before we look after the rest of the worlds ills. The English public always end up paying in some way and suffer as a consequence.
Is it time that we actually put the English people first, or is that just too much to ask?
- Jilly, London, 06/11/2009 10:09
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