The Gambia – Swansea Vision 2020 Eye Link

Today was our last full day. There was a tutorial first thing where David Laws presented talks on paediatric cataract and paediatric glaucoma. Cheryl presented a talk on amblyopia (lazy eye) and showed some interesting videos of ocular motility disorders. Cheryl saved the best till last when she showed a video of Dave’s African dancing at Makasutu. Imagine a crazy baboon with ants in his pants!!!!!

After the tutorial the team split – Dave and Stella went to theatre and Lyndsay, Cheryl and Suzanne went to the Royal Victoria Teaching Hospital and were shown around the Eye Clinic, theatre and ward. There are renovations going on at the moment which are nearly complete which will improve conditions considerably. We observed lots of equipment in various states of repair stored haphazardly under sinks and in corridors covered in thick layers of dust. The refractionists proudly showed us their latest acquisition – a Humphrey field analyser. Cheryl and Suzanne gave a demonstration on how to use it, however it needed a new bulb so is not fully functional. We added this to our list of things to sort out when we return to the UK.

In the afternoon back at the Eye Centre there was a little time for some more teaching, Lindsay suggested a different method of LVA assessment and Suzanne and Cheryl taught the refractionists vision testing in children.

The afternoon concluded with a useful meeting with the steering committee where the Swansea team reported back on their achievements during the week and expressed their thanks to their hosts.

We all discussed the way forward and how we could build on the good work that has been achieved so far.

We are all sad that it is our last day tomorrow but are looking forward to returning to our families in the UK.