Nurses from the world’s only airborne eye hospital have touched down in Ireland for specialist training at University Hospital Limerick. Angela Purcell and Xiaoying Liu, both Head Nurses on board the Flying Eye Hospital, will spend one week training in Limerick before heading to the capital for a week’s training at the Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital in Dublin.
The Orbis Flying Eye Hospital is the only airborne ophthalmic training facility currently in existence.
On Tuesday 11 July, Angela Purcell will give a lecture to medical staff at University Hospital Limerick about her experiences on board the Flying Eye Hospital on a recent trip to Vietnam. With an estimated population of 92 million people, approximately half a million Vietnamese people are known to be blind. Poor eye care, infrastructure, a shortage of trained ophthalmic professionals and limited access to affordable quality eye care services encumber the nation’s eye care situation.
Orbis is an international charity that fights avoidable blindness around the globe. A specially designed and converted MD-10 aircraft, the Flying Eye Hospital, combines the latest in avionics, hospital engineering, technology and clinical expertise, making it possible for the charity to bring ophthalmic training to communities around the world where the need is greatest. The Flying Eye Hospital provides continuing medical education tailored for local ophthalmologists, nurses, anesthesiologists, biomedical engineers and technicians through lectures, case discussions, observation, hands-on training, workshops and symposiums.
Mairead has been involved with Orbis for over 10 years, embarking on ten volunteer assignments with the charity to share her skills with nurses in areas such as Paraguay, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Tanzania and Uganda. Commenting on her experiences, Mairead said: “I’ve been a volunteer with Orbis and the Flying Eye Hospital for many years and I’m as passionate about the cause now as I ever was. The ethos, professionalism and commitment of the Flying Eye Hospital staff has been unfaltering, so inviting Angela and Xiaoying to Ireland for specialist training is just one small way we can thank them for their dedication.”
For more than 30 years, Orbis has helped countries build the skills and resources they need to address the problem of avoidable blindness. The charity now has a team of over 400 expert medical volunteers, from 30 countries, training local medical teams both in their own hospitals and on the Flying Eye Hospital, with a focus on quality and safety standards for patient care.
