THE SPOTLIGHT has been turned on some of our medical professionals who between them have created an award-winning partnership that has transformed healthcare in Tanzania.

The cameras followed the members of two teams, devoted to laparoscopic (keyhole) surgery and to the treatment of burns, during one particular knowledge-sharing visit to their adopted sister hospital recently.

The result is a film, entitled Novemba, that tells the story of the link-up between Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust and the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre, nestled in the foothills of the snow-capped mountain itself.

The project’s founder and driving force, keyhole surgery expert Liam Horgan, and the counterpart he has trained up in the art, Dr Kondo Chilonga, were both in attendance as the film had its first showing at Newcastle’s Tyneside Cinema earlier this month.

It made clear just what a difference Northumbria’s teams, working in a voluntary capacity through the trust’s Bright charity, had made during the past 15 years to the country 7000 miles away.

Much of the training in keyhole surgery in the early years was transmitted over a digital link from the then laparoscopic surgery centre within Hexham General Hospital.

Things have moved on so much in Tanzania that now, they have just begun performing their first day-case laparoscopic operations, whereby the patient has the procedure and goes home the same day.

The film-makers followed the first such patient as she had her gallbladder removed. So pleased was she with the outcome that she invited the two surgeons to visit her at home so she could thank them in person. The cameras went too.

Liam said: “By working in partnership with our colleagues at KCMC for the last 15-plus years, we have been able to overcome immense challenges in order to improve healthcare for people living in Tanzania.

“Introducing laparoscopic surgery there was a momentous achievement which has greatly improved patients’ experiences by reducing the length of stay and overcrowding on the ward.

“From that day on, we were determined to take it a step further and enable a patient to go home on the same day as their operation – something that is commonplace in the UK, but was unheard of there.”

He was delighted the momentous occasion had been captured on film, not least because it had been a revelation for patients and staff alike.

“To visit the woman’s house the next day and to see her utter joy was a sheer delight,” he said. “It epitomised everything that the link is about and, indeed, why I became a doctor.

“In this country with people’s experiences of the NHS, it’s hard to imagine the environment in which our colleagues in Tanzania operate.

“We hope this documentary will open people’s eyes about their world and what can be achieved by working together.”

At the screening, Dr Kondo expressed his gratitude to the Northumbria staff for the doors they had opened over the years.

He said: “We’re incredibly grateful for the support and quite simply, without it, we wouldn’t have been able to introduce laparoscopic surgery, which has transformed the way we perform operations in our hospital.

“Now we have trained surgeons in other hospitals across Tanzania, so our work is benefitting the entire country.

“We look forward to continuing to work with Northumbria Healthcare Trust and to pushing our boundaries yet further.”

The trust is recognised across the NHS for its work in the field of international volunteering, developments that take place under the auspices of the Bright charity. The long-running project in Tanzania has been recognised with three national awards.

Novemba will be given its official premiere at the Global Health Film Festival in London next month.