Team of NI medics on sight-saving mission to Cambodia

By Helen McGurk
Published 23rd Jan 2023, 17:25 BST
Updated 23rd Jan 2023, 17:33 BST
Professor Colin Willoughby after performing surgery on a patient in Cambodia in 2019Professor Colin Willoughby after performing surgery on a patient in Cambodia in 2019
Professor Colin Willoughby after performing surgery on a patient in Cambodia in 2019
A top team of Northern Irish eye specialists is travelling to Cambodia next month to provide sight-saving surgery to local people, as well as providing training to local medics.

The group of 35 health professionals, consisting of eye surgeons, anaesthetists, ophthalmologists, optometrists, theatre nurses, specialist eye nurses, physicians and volunteers from across the NHS and private sector in Northern Ireland, have all given their time voluntarily and used their own annual leave allowance for the mission.

The team is being led by Colin Willoughby, a professor of Ophthalmology at Ulster University and a consultant ophthalmic surgeon at the Belfast HSC Trust and will be based at the Khmer Sight Foundation, a medical centre in Phnom Penh.

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In 2019 a group of Northern Irish eye surgeons, nurses, optometrists and volunteers spent a week in Cambodia, where they performed 190 cataract and other sight-saving operations.

The Khmer Sight Foundation, Cambodia. Over 180,000 Cambodians are blind and 90 per cent of blindness is avoidable.The Khmer Sight Foundation, Cambodia. Over 180,000 Cambodians are blind and 90 per cent of blindness is avoidable.
The Khmer Sight Foundation, Cambodia. Over 180,000 Cambodians are blind and 90 per cent of blindness is avoidable.

On February 6, the Northern Irish team will provide another mission for one week.

Professor Willoughby pointed out that around 17 million people live in Cambodia and nearly three-quarters of the population live on less than $3 a day.

"Over 180,000 Cambodians are blind and 90 per cent of blindness is avoidable. Three-quarters of blindness is due to cataracts. Cambodia has very few ophthalmologists to help its people.

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"Between 1975 and 1979 the Khmer Rouge perpetrated the Cambodian genocide and the legacy has affected generations. During our visit we will also help to train and educate local doctors, nurses, optometrists and medical students to replace this lost generation.”

The Khmer Sight Foundation (KSF) (http://khmersight.com/ and https://www.facebook.com/CISACAMBODIA/ ) was founded in 2015 by the late Australian ophthalmologist Dr. Kim Frumar, his partner Teresa De Leon, and Cambodian Secretary of State, Sean Ngu. Professor Sunil Shah from Birmingham (UK) is the International Medical Chair.

KSF is a non-profit non-governmental organisation whose mission is to eliminate avoidable blindness in Cambodia and provide expert clinical training, recognised by overseas professional bodies, for all eye care health professionals.

International teams from the UK, France, Germany, Singapore and India will visit Cambodia to undertake weeklong missions.

Professor Willoughby said the mission “shows the dedication and selflessness” of NI healthcare professionals to preserve and restore sight in Northern Ireland and the wider world.

Related topics:NHS