NNUH consultant leads international teaching course

A NNUH consultant has passed on his expertise to eye doctors in Africa after leading an international course in Kenya.

Narman Puvanachandra, who is a Consultant Paediatric Ophthalmologist and Associate Dean, coordinated lectures, workshops and teaching in theatres for dozens of delegates to share best practice around the treatment of children’s eye problems.

Narman Puvanachandra

Doctors from Kenya, Ethiopia, Burundi, South Sudan and other African countries took part in the paediatric ophthalmology teaching course, which was held at Kenyatta University Teaching Hospital in Nairobi.

Narman, who has been a consultant at NNUH since 2009 and runs the Ophthalmology Training Programme in the East of England, was invited by Vision2020, the Royal College of Ophthalmologists and London School of Tropical Medicine as part of a project to eliminate avoidable blindness.

He said the course was a “huge success” and was joined by an orthoptist and ophthalmologist from Bournemouth Hospital.

“It was a really effective way to teach a lot of people some key skills in paediatric ophthalmology. By teaching several people to be able to go back to their relative countries and practice, we made a much larger impact than I have achieved in previous projects in South Sudan and rural China.”

“I thoroughly enjoyed the collaborative nature of this course and have kept in touch with the doctors in order to be able to offer further advice and support. I too learnt a lot about how to practice paediatric ophthalmology with restricted resources and made some lifelong friends,” he said.