Dr Melita Gordon: “We are committed to improving endoscopy training in Malawi”
A gastroenterology team from the University and the Royal Liverpool University Hospital (RLUH) have won a prestigious national prize for endoscopy training in Malawi.
The Shire Award for Gastrointestinal Excellence (SAGE) first prize was awarded for the development of the Sustainable Endoscopy Training project in Malawi, which aims to improve training for endoscopic diagnostic and therapeutic procedures in this resource limited setting.
The project, led by Dr Melita Gordon from the University’s Institute of Translational Medicine, has been running since 2009, and develops relevant training courses and tools, develops and mentors local endoscopy trainers, and has created a Blantyre training hub.
It is run in partnership with the Mersey School of Endoscopy, a UK national training centre at the RLUH, and with the endoscopy facility at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital in Blantyre, Malawi.
Endoscopy allows local clinicians to diagnose conditions that are very common in Malawi, including oesophageal cancers, and to diagnose and treat oesophageal varices which cause life-threatening bleeding.
‘Delighted’
Dr Gordon said: “We are delighted to receive this team award, and to be recognised for our commitment to improving endoscopy training with our partners in Malawi. Endoscopy staff in Malawi are now better equipped with training resources and are developing their own skills as trainers, and this award will help us to continue to enable them to develop sustainable training for improved services in Malawi and other countries in the region.”
The SAGE awards are designed to all allow units, consultants and networks working across all areas of gastrointestinal care to be recognised for innovative work and the efforts made to raise the standard of patient care within gastroenterology.
Watch the Malawi-Liverpool Endoscopy video here