2023 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Conference
March 5-7, 2023 • Cincinnati, OH
10/27/2019 | 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM | Opening and developing a specialist ear treatment and training hospital and community ear care project in Pokhara, Nepal. The first three years. | Ventana Ballroom C
Opening and developing a specialist ear treatment and training hospital and community ear care project in Pokhara, Nepal. The first three years.
With a background of 25 years running surgical ear camps in remote and often mountainous areas of western Nepal it was clear that a longer-term sustainable solution was required. In 2015 we opened a specialist 20 bed ear hospital with a wide range of outpatient, surgical and audiological facilities. We have advanced facilities such as diagnostic audiometry, tympanometry, Oto-Acoustic Emission, Auditory Brainstem Reflex, Real Ear Measurement, and Speech audiology (in the main local language), with hearing aid fitting and repairs . We now have around 40 staff members. Training is a priority. We run training programmes for our paramedical ear care workers, nurses and ear surgeons and run training seminars for external specialists. We have started neonatal at risk hearing screening in a large local maternity unit and their neonatal intensive care facility. We network with international volunteers. We run regular outreach screening, health education and basic ear treatment community ear camps. We discuss the strategy, development process and the various day-to-day issues we have encountered.
This year we have operated on about 400 people, examined around 10,000 patients in clinic and seen another 1500 in our pilot outreach ear care work. Fitted several hundred hearing aids, and provided additional services such as speech therapy, tinnitus counselling, and a developing service in investigation of vestibular disorders, including caloric testing and Vestibular Evoked Myogenic Potentials. We run a sustainable core model based on patients paying reasonable treatment costs, together with an active charity fund aiding those many people attending with limited resources, and aim to continue outreach and teaching work based on donor contributions to date. Our aim is never to turn away a patient based on their ability to pay. To this end we also have a social service department to help assess patients’ needs.
- Demonstrate steps needed to develop a specialist ear centre in LMIC
- Discuss strategies for provision of specialist ear care through a hub and community outreach model
- Demonstrate development of training modules for primary ear care practitioners
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Presenters/Authors
Mike Smith
(), International Nepal Fellowship, entdoc@talktalk.net;
Nearly 40 years experience working in Nepal, with periods exclusively in Nepal (as leprosy surgeon for 2 years then as ENT, head and Neck Surgeon for 8 years) and periods based in UK as a consultant ENT surgeon, whilst conducting twice yearly surgical ear camps in Nepal. Personally conducted over 50 such camps. Initially a general ENT surgeon, gradually sub specialised in Ear disorders. Now exclusively work as an otologist. chairperson of UK charity Ear Aid Nepal. For past 4 years the full time Head of Ear Services at a new purpose built ear centre in Nepal.
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