A team of eight Cambridgeshire healthcare staff including ENT doctors, audiologists and a paediatric nurse from Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (CUH), visited Malawi in November to co-deliver ‘ear camps’ with their Malawi colleagues as part of an established health partnership that is having a positive impact on hundreds of people.
This month they had the opportunity to share the success of the visit and the partnership work with donors, supporters and distinguished guests including Deputy Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire Mrs Caroline Bewes, and former Lord Mayor and Mayoress of London Sir Michael and Lady Sally Oliver, at a special event at Innovate Cambridge’s new community space, The Glasshouse.
Members of the team who visited Malawi with Caroline Bewes DL at Innovate Cambridge.
From left to right : Isobel Fitzgerald O’Connor (Consultant ENT surgeon), Ali Parkes (physiotherapist), Alice Holmes (nurse), Caroline Bewes DL, Tamsin Holland Brown (paediatrician at CCS), Evelyn Brealey (director of Cambridge Global Health Partnerships), Charlotte Skipper (audiologist), Becky Silkstone (audiologist), Nat Glibberly (ENT surgeon).
Led by Cambridge Community Services paediatrician and Hear Glue Ear founder Dr Tamsin Holland Brown, and consultant ENT surgeon at Cambridge University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust Miss Isobel Fitzgerald O’Connor, the Malawi Hearing Project is an initiative supported by Cambridge Global Health Partnerships that is improving access to ear and hearing care for children and their communities in Malawi.
Co-developed and delivered with audiologists and community NGOs in Malawi, the partnership supports the provision of affordable hearing equipment, creates training and teaching resources, and enables more children with hearing problems to be treated so they can access education and continue learning.
Over 800 assessments in a week
The Cambridgeshire team’s visit to Malawi in November 2024 saw them work alongside audiology colleagues from Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital in Blantyre and local NGOs to take ‘ear camps’ to rural communities who wouldn’t usually have access to healthcare. The aim was to evaluate the most practical and sustainable way of delivering remote ear and hearing care while assessing and treating as many patients as possible.
With a mobile hearing unit in tow, they drove long distances to visit three rural schools and a university, working in hot and noisy conditions to see more than 800 children and local community members in the space of a week. The demand was huge: one teacher cycled 11 of her pupils with suspected hearing loss 36km to have them assessed. Many others waited patiently in 28-degree temperatures to be seen.
“It was rewarding working in a team of other healthcare professionals and everyone pulling together, particularly in some challenging environments and with limited resources. It was also hugely enjoyable to work alongside the Blantyre team and learn from their expertise of healthcare in a different setting,” explains Charlotte Skipper, Specialist Audiologist at CUH, who joined the visit.
Healthcare innovation developed in Cambridge
As a result of the ear camps, many children with deafness received a simple bone conducting headset and microphone to enable them to hear. Dr Tamsin Holland Brown worked on the headset in partnership with Raspberry Pi (a computing education charity and developer of multifunctional micro-computers), which took off during the Covid-19 pandemic when families couldn’t access normal ENT services.
“The headset was initially designed to support NHS patients in an affordable way, so their development, speech, language and learning wasn’t interrupted while they waited for an operation or for their condition to clear up. Some hearing aids that use bone conduction technology cost thousands of pounds, but by working with Raspberry Pi, the headset now available costs nearer £50,” explains Tamsin.
Having previously worked in Malawi, ENT surgeon Miss Isobel Fitzgerald O’Connor quickly saw the potential for the simple, cheap and rechargeable headsets in low-income countries. Together, she and Tamsin carried out pilot studies and published research as they developed a better understanding of how the headsets could be distributed.
With CGHP’s help and the support of colleagues at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, they were able to carry out qualitative and practical research with audiologists and teachers in Malawi, with partners in both countries working together to determine how the technology could be utilised. “The knowledge sharing and understanding of how best to support school-aged children with the hearing-headsets helps children in UK as well as globally,” explains Tamsin.
A sustainable, ongoing partnership
With WHO and UNICEF continuing to emphasise the critical need for increased access to assistive products (AP), November’s visit was a valuable opportunity to explore sustainable solutions for the ongoing management of ear and hearing care issues, including the use of solar powered hearing aids and charging options to overcome the limited access to electricity and expense of batteries.
During the visit the team collected data which will be analysed and used to inform the development of a multi-year project plan to improve ear and hearing care services in Malawi. A fantastic example of how an idea developed in Cambridge can have global impact, the project will also provide learning and development opportunities for NHS staff from Cambridge and the East of England in a very different working environment and health system.
“The opportunity to work with dedicated, generous and kind colleagues on this trip was a highlight”, says Tamsin. “None of it would have come about if it hadn’t been for Raspberry Pi and other giants in the Cambridge ecosystem, including Babraham Research Campus, AstraZeneca Exchange, Health Innovation East, Cambridge and Anglia Ruskin universities, COSA, Judge Business School and Cambridge Lieutenancy to name a few. We are also grateful to Cambridge Innovate for hosting the space for an event to share our learning.”
This visit was made possible thanks to the generosity of a small group of donors and those who support the ongoing work of CGHP. Thank you to everyone who made a donation and for all you have helped the team to achieve. You can find out more about the project here, or if you would like to make a donation to support the ongoing work of this partnership, please get in touch with Hannah Wilson, Fundraising Lead at hannah.wilson@cghp.org.uk.
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