Jet-set flying hospital is a sight for sore eyes

A Preston doctor is preparing to travel half way around the world to give the gift of sight to children in the developing world on the world’s only flying hospital.
Dr Lawrence Azavedo, consultant anaesthetist at the Royal Preston Hospital, is joining a team of international experts on the Orbis Flying Hospital, which houses the only airborne operating theatre for eye treatment in the world, to treat people in some of the most isolated places on earth.
The doctor will leave for Mongolia in three weeks where he will join a 21-strong team of specialists to help tackle avoidable sight loss and train local doctors how to carry out operations in future.
The father-of-two said: “It is very important work. There are places in the world where people aren’t getting the treatment they need because the local hospital might not even have a single working microscope.
“The conditions can be very challenging, which is why the plane is so useful because it is fully equipped. It is like something out of a James Bond film – it is quite fascinating.
“A lot of the conditions we are able to treat are relatively simple but the equipment or training just isn’t in place.
“These trips make a huge difference in people’s lives.”
It is the doctor’s sixth trip volunteering on the revolutionary flying hospital, which was the brainchild of eminent American doctor Dr David Paton.
Last year alone, 116 ophthalmologists received training onboard, 443 eye surgeries were performed and 85 medical volunteers from 11 countries shared their skills and knowledge with local doctors and medical professionals.
Dr Azavedo, who is originally from Goa, India, said: “It is all about helping them become self-sufficient.
“There is no point going into these places, treating people and then leaving it to happen again. A lot of our work is about training.
07/06/11 lep.co.uk

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Categories: Foreign Jun 2011, New Jun 2011