Flying Eye Hospital – Part 1
A cargo plane converted into a mobile operating theatre is helping save the eye sight of patients across the world.
An estimated 285 million people are blind or visually impaired around the globe, yet 80 percent could be cured, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
The Orbis Flying Eye Hospital is an aeroplane converted into an operating theatre – it has flown to 78 countries including Ethiopia, India, China and Bangladesh – to treat patients and train local medical staff.
Patients with conditions such as cataracts, damaged retinas and squints are treated onboard while operations are broadcast live to local medics sitting in the plane’s 48-seat classroom.
In this segment of The Cure , Dr Joff Lacey travels to rural Zambia to find out how the hospital’s medics are saving the sight and transforming the lives of patients.
Watch The Cure on Tuesday 22:30; Wednesday 09:30; Thursday 03:30; Friday 16:30; Saturday 22:30; Sunday 09:30; Monday 03:30; Tuesday 16:30 GMT. |
