Improving hearing in Bangladesh

By Jane Elliott BBC News health reporter

Carrying out ear operations in Bangladesh

Each year scores of British medics go to work overseas in developing countries. Many are responding to specific events like the Tsunami or Asian Earthquake.

Others are motivated not by a single disaster but a general and growing humanitarian desire to help improve medical conditions in the developing world.

Some wait until they have finished their NHS careers, but others like Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) surgeon Antony Tucker take a little time each year to try and make a difference.

For a fortnight a year Mr Tucker and his team - which includes audiologists, infection control and theatre nurses and speech and language therapists - work in Bangladesh's only ENT hospital.

Education

Normally based at the Bradford Royal Infirmary, the team spent their time trying not only to improve conditions in the hospital, but also to educate the existing staff so that when they go home the work can continue.

And for Mr Tucker and his wife, Dr Sheila Webb, the Bangladesh link is more than just a yearly event - they set up a charity to raise funds and they sponsor Bangladeshi medics to come to Bradford to study methods and techniques.

"I first got involved in Bangladesh when my wife went there," Mr Tucker told the BBC News website.

"She is a director of public health and a GP and when she saw the poverty of the country she wanted to do something to help so she set up a charity Dig Deep For Bangladesh.

"Then the opportunity came for me to go and do something myself there."

Improvements

Mr Tucker said it was hugely satisfying to return year after year and see that the advice and techniques they had taught were being followed.

He said that when he first went to the hospital, hygiene levels had not been to UK standards, but that these were now much improved.

The team sets new targets each time they visit. Thanks to their input the hospital now has its own dedicated room to keep equipment sterile.

The next goal will be to ensure equipment like tongue depressors are used as few times as possible before being discarded or properly cleaned.

Many of the patients the team see are people who have already been seen by the Bangladeshi doctors. But the medics are keen to have a second opinion, often because the case was complicated to begin with.

The UK medics also teach them new techniques like Bone Anchored Hearing Aids, which allow surgeons to place the aid behind the ear, rather than in the ear - an important development in Bangladesh where the wearing of hearing aids is stigmatised.

Wearing hearing aids is stigmatised in Bangladesh

Mr Tucker explained: "There is a stigma with hearing aids and some people have lost their jobs because they wear them.

"Also in Bangladesh there are a number of patients who have recurrent ear infections so this type of aid is better for them as it is not in the ear.

"We saw lots of patients with otosclerosis, a condition which causes hearing loss and which is quite common in Bangladesh. This can be treated by hearing aids or surgery."

Mr Tucker said the whole exchange had been very beneficial, not only for Bangladesh, but in shaping the UK health professionals attitudes and helping them work more confidently in Bradford's multi-racial society.

Funding

The NHS annually sets aside �20,000 to fund a series of UK wide humanitarian projects, like the Bradford project.

Now this is to be matched this year by �15,000 from the British Medical Association and �5,000 from the Royal College of Nursing.

Dr Ed Borman, chair of the BMA's International Committee which administers the fund, said: "NHS teams achieved an incredible amount last year, and with twice as much money available, they'll be able to do even more.

"It's not a one-way process - the doctors and nurses who return from these projects gain skills that they bring back to their work for the NHS."

Dr Beverley Malone, general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing agreed: "The Humanitarian Fund gives nurses and other health professionals a chance to help improve the health of communities in developing countries.

"Getting involved with these kinds of humanitarian projects can also broaden and develop staff skills - with great benefits to the NHS."

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