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A doctor examines a child's eyes on Orbis.
Robert Lalah, Staff Reporter
AN AEROPLANE full of leading eye doctors from several nations across the world, going around saving sight and changing lives all over the globe. It may seem a bit crazy, but it's the everyday work of Orbis, the flying eye hospital programme.
The Orbis aeroplane, which is the only one of its kind in the world, is literally a hospital on wings. It is equipped with the most modern medical equipment and latest communication technology.
Volunteer doctors from all over the world travel the globe to operate on patients in different territories.
But the Orbis aircraft is not just a hospital it is also a classroom. The mission of Orbis is not only to travel the world to operate on patients' eyes, but to share information with doctors in the territories to which the group travels, on the latest treatment options and techniques. By so doing, the charity group hopes to spread medical expertise to as many places as possible.
JAMAICAN MISSION
The aeroplane, which was in Jamaica for two weeks, left the island yesterday en route to Peru to continue its life-changing work.
While here, the volunteer doctors operated on an average of four patients each day. They also gave tutorials to doctors from Jamaica and 13 other Caribbean islands. There is an operating room, a recovery room and a classroom, all on the aeroplane.
Six top doctors from the United States and Europe operated on patients while explaining the techniques they were using to visiting Caribbean doctors, who watched the procedures from a screen in a hi-tech classroom. Some of the Caribbean doctors even joined in to assist with the surgeries.
On Thursday, The Sunday Gleaner went out to the Norman Manley Airport in Kingston and boarded the Orbis aircraft. We caught up with the head of Orbis, Oliver Foot.
A gentleman more enthusiastic about his job, you will not find. Indeed, he had good reason to be excited.
Mr. Foot explained that he learned only the day before, that Orbis was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.
"It's just wonderful. We are very excited. Orbis promotes peace and cooperation throughout the world by providing the gift of sight. So this is just wonderful," he said.
Mr. Foot explained that on its travels, Orbis has united Muslims and Jews, communists and capitalists, rich and poor.
Orbis has been around for 25 years and has travelled to more than 70 countries. This was its seventh visit to Jamaica.
He explained that it takes $25 million a year to keep the programme going. The charity group is kept going by sponsors such as Fedex and Alcon.
On this trip, The Jamaica Pegasus provided the visitors with discounted accommodation and Air Jamaica provided tickets to the participants from across the Caribbean.
SHARING INFORMATION
Among the volunteer doctors on this trip to Jamaica was Dr. Brian Little. He is widely regarded as one of the leading ophthalmologists in the United Kingdom.
"Being here in Jamaica has been great. It's my first time here, although I've been with Orbis for ten years. We're not here to say, this is the way it must be done. We're just here to share information and also to learn from local doctors," he said.
Dr. Little visited the Kingston Public Hospital (KPH) earlier in the week, where he performed five surgeries. "I enjoyed the experience. I got to see the real Kingston and we got a lot of work done. It was good," he said.
Nurses from local hospitals also participated in the programme. Florence O'Connor is in charge of the nursing staff at the eye clinic at the KPH, and the news team met her on the aircraft.
"This really is remarkable. We get to share experiences with the best doctors and nurses in the world," she said.
So, as the flying eye hospital's seventh visit to Jamaica came to and end, Mr. Foot said he was more than pleased with another successful mission. Off to another far corner of the earth to do it all over again.
