Founder

Dr Kate Coleman, Founder of Right to Sight

Why did you start Right to Sight?

I started Right to Sight when I realised that no amount of money in the world could solve blindness due to the lack of cataract surgeons in Africa, unless African doctors chose a career in ophthalmology, could train in ophthalmology and wanted to remain in Africa (65% African doctors emigrate). I realised that African surgeons needed to be empowered to pass on their training and to develop their career paths in order to attract the surgeons for the future. A surgeon needs to be trained by a surgeon, yet in 2006 there were no other organisations dedicated to providing and supporting African ophthalmologists.

As an ophthalmic surgeon, I travelled and met global experts in blindness including leading developing world surgeons (Andrew Richards OBE, John Sandford Smith OBE), African ophthalmologist and trainer, Hannah Faal, leading eye hospital experts (Thulasiraj Ravilla, Aravind; Professor Natchair, Aravind) and health economist Professor Charles Normand. We concluded that Right to Sight had to deliver a total career path, based on the benefits of current global ophthalmic careers, in phases, to  address the benefits missing in Africa. In 2006, these were: good salary, excellent equipment to enable rewarding surgical results, well trained support staff to allow the surgeon to avoid non ophthalmic work, excellent patient processing and transport systems to allow patients access to the surgeon, continuing medical education through sub-speciality regional training centers, online web conferencing and stimulating local research and development opportunities.

In 2006, Right to Sight set out to research and develop the best pilot models for delivery of high quality, sustainable eye care. From 2006 – 2009 we explored our capacity building pilot model in 22 programmes in 8 African countries and 2 programmes in Orissa, India. We employed Indian surgeons in these programmes and then, in 2009, moved our headquarters from the UK to Ireland to The Royal College of Surgeins in Ireland, to focus on developing the best clinical and surgical training models in our hospitals in Cameroon, Kenya and South Africa. We moved our consultancy out-sourcing office from India to Kenya.

Right to Sight expects to complete development of our training and continuing medical education model by December 2012.