Addenbrooke’s and Rosie staff pass on knowledge to their overseas counterparts

Specialist ophthalmic nurse Debbie Jankowski (second from left) and Malcolm Kerr-Muir, consultant ophthalmologist (second from right) with staff at the Princess Marine Hospital in Botswana.

Doctors and nurses from Addenbrooke’s and the Rosie hospitals are offering their valuable skills to hospitals in the developing world.

Since Addenbrooke’s Abroad was set up in 2006, the charity has financially supported more than 100 hospital staff to undertake their jobs in 25 ‘resource poor’ countries as well as carrying out training with their overseas counterparts.
Addenbrooke’s Abroad - which is part of Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust (ACT) - has also provided 60 bursaries to trainee doctors so they can undertake part of their training in a developing country.
Staff at the internationally renowned Cambridge hospitals – both medical and administrative - are asked to inform the Addenbrooke’s Abroad office on the biomedical campus of any related overseas voluntary work.
And the office has seen personnel travel to a myriad of countries offering their lifesaving or life-enhancing skills at the same time as increasing their own knowledge.
Those who struggle to pay their own travel costs can apply to Addenbrooke’s Abroad for a grant to help them to carry out their job overseas during periods of paid or unpaid leave.
Project director of Addenbrooke’s Abroad Evelyn Brealey said: “Addenbrooke’s recognises we rely hugely on staff from overseas to deliver our services and it is important that we give something back.
“There is also that personal satisfaction in giving something back.”
Mrs Brealey said it often enhances the skills of medical professionals to work in resource poor countries.
She said: “There is often an awful lot you can do without necessarily having lots of tests and equipment.”
While Addenbrooke’s staff have volunteered to help out in numerous countries, Addenbrooke’s Abroad has established links with hospitals and clinics in Botswana as well as the National Maternity Hospital in El Salvador in Central America.
Many members of staff from Addenbrooke’s and the Rosie have travelled to the African and Central American hospitals and have played host to their medical teams during visits to Cambridge.
And it is not just medical staff who have benefited from the exchanges.
Mrs Brealey said: “The leadership and management of the healthcare sector in Botswana is weak and Addenbrooke’s has done a huge amount of development in leadership and management.”
The link with the Princess Marina Hospital in Gaborone, the capital of Botswana, began as part of an ophthalmology programme to address diabetic retinopathy, the country’s second biggest cause of blindness.
Ophthalmic nurse at Addenbrooke’s Debbie Jankowski helped to launch a screening programme at the hospital and has travelled to Botswana twice to offer her skills and wisdom.
Ms Jankowski has also taught the African nurses how to recognise and treat the signs of early glaucoma.
She said: “Giving ophthalmic presentations and talks in Botswana boosted my confidence as a nurse and I feel that it has helped me progress considerably here in the UK.”
Medical photographer Catherine Martin, 41, travelled to Botswana in October to work on the diabetic retinopathy screening programme at the Princess Marina Hospital.
Miss Martin trained ophthalmic nurses at the African hospital to use a retinal camera to look at the back of the eye.
Should the early signs of diabetic retinopathy be detected, a patient can then undergo laser treatment to prevent blindness and Miss Martin said they were keen to offer this on the same day.
This is because Botswana’s population is spread over a vast rural area and therefore will often not make a second journey to hospital for treatment.
She said: “There is a big stigma in the country that if you go into the hospital you will not leave.
“The nurses I was training were very willing to learn and the experience made me realise how lucky we are in this country to have the facilities and the transport links so we can get to hospital quickly.”
Mrs Brealey stressed that no NHS resources are committed to Addenbrooke’s Abroad and many charitable events are held to raise funds.
Dr Mary Archer, the chairman of Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, is hosting a fundraising evening of Latin American music at her Grantchester home on July 10 to celebrate Addenbrooke’s Abroad’s link with El Salvador.
It follows an African evening last year marking the charity’s link with Botswana.
Mrs Brealey said: “There is a lot of interest in Cambridge in international development issues.
“It is fantastic for people to see how their local hospital can contribute to international development while at the same time seeing their own hospital benefit.”