Dr Lucy Obolensky

The driver behind establishing the Global Health Collaborative

“A great number of us have been taking our skills and expertise overseas for many years, and it is exciting to be able to bring all that knowledge into one umbrella group so that we can contribute still further to health around the world. It is not just about help and support to people in some of the poorest parts of the world – there are benefits too for the UK, not just in providing our healthcare professionals and students with valuable and life-changing opportunities, but also because what we learn overseas can be translated back into improving our practice within the NHS.”

“We know that there are hundreds of medically-trained professionals out there who may be thinking about taking time out to work overseas, and the training is available for them to hone their skill set to suit the clinical, physical and cultural challenges they may face. For me, the opportunity to make a real difference to communities in Kenya over years of visits has been humbling and an honour. I first visited those communities as a newly-qualified doctor and since then I have visited on a regular basis, even taking my children as the years have gone by.

My family and I are now a part of that community and words cannot describe how special and life-affirming that is."