By Jane Elliott BBC News health reporter

Volunteers offer the latest techniques

Orthopaedic consultant Dr Stephen Wood is hoping to make himself dispensable.

An unusual career plan perhaps, but for Dr Wood, who has now retired from the NHS, it will be a sign that the work that he and fellow UK surgeons are carrying out in the developing world is starting to bear fruit.

"We wanted to help because there were a lot of instances of badly treated fractures.

"Now we want to work ourselves out of a job."

Teach

Dr Wood has been to Zambia, Malawi and Ethiopia - on six occasions - to teach.

He is adamant that his role is not simply to provide an extra pair of hands, but to train local people to do the work themselves.

Without the help of these doctors I don't think we would be able to sustain the orthopaedics teaching programme Dr Tezera Chaka

"I have been to Ethiopia so many times that they say when I get there my feet touch the ground running."

World Orthopaedic Concern (WOC), of which Dr Wood is a member, was set up over 30 years ago, by a group of orthopaedic surgeons, chiefly from Britain, who felt there was a need to teach the principles of orthopaedic surgery to doctors in the developing world.

WOC (UK) has concentrated mainly on English speaking Africa and provides support and teachers in several countries, including Ethiopia, Malawi and Zambia.

In Ethiopia the organisation supports the Orthopaedic Department of the Medical School at Addis Ababa University where, in addition to undergraduate courses there is a four year postgraduate orthopaedic training programme leading to a local qualification.

Teachers go to Addis for up to six weeks at a time and volunteers are recruited from the US branch (Orthopaedics Overseas) in addition to the UK.

This is also a way of reversing the 'brain drain' which has caused considerable problems in country's like Ethiopia.

"There has been a steady drain of trained orthopaedic surgeons from Ethiopia to the US which causes major problems with both the theoretical and practical aspects of the course," Dr Wood told the BBC News website.

"Overall we feel that it is important that we are invited by the local surgical community to help so that we do not tread on toes.

"We are a small charity but try to encourage our colleagues in the UK to contribute to the work. "

"They are extremely grateful for what we can do for them. They try to persuade you to keep going. They find you a great asset."

Help

Dr Tezera Chaka, assistant professor in orthopaedic surgery in Addis Ababa, agreed that the help offered from the developed world was invaluable in keeping up-to-date.

"Without the help of these doctors I don't think we would be able to sustain the orthopaedics teaching programme.

"Not only do they help as a teacher, but they also bring with them surgical instruments, implants etc, which are vital to our services and to the training.

"They get involved in our training programme and are involved with case discussions on problematic cases, helping us with diagnosis and treatment.

"They also give lectures and bedside teaching to the undergraduate and postgraduate students as well as taking part in the outpatient clinics and ward rounds."

Dr Chaka said that surgeons like himself were able to learn how to deal with the more complicated cases.

"There was a child we saw who had a rare deformity of the hip. We had not come across this before, and Dr Wood was able to show us how to do the surgery we needed to do in order to correct this deformity.

"When he is with us he has a one-hour morning conference, help in the fracture clinic, referral clinic and the paediatrics orthopaedic clinic.

"He does a ward round with us and advises us on the management of the cases as well as coming into the operating theatre to give his advice during surgery.

Experts help with ward rounds and teaching

"If necessary he will help with difficult cases, and if the procedure is really new to us he will perform it for us so that we will know what to do when we see it again."

Michael Benson, president of the British Orthopaedic Association (BOA), said UK experts saw this as a way of giving something back to medicine.

"Many orthopaedic surgeons feel a responsibility for patients in the developing world and, especially towards the end of their NHS career or in early retirement, offer their time and expertise to these countries for no reward beyond personal satisfaction to help patients, teach and improved local services.