Optometrist completes Malawi move

Optometrist James McNeely has swapped Merseyside for Malawi where he has been volunteering in a city hospital.

McNeely has taken a year’s leave from his role at Specsavers Birkenhead to work at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital in the African country.

He has cited regular power cuts, water shortages, daily 32 degree temperatures and an underfunded hospital.

‘It has definitely made me appreciate what we have so much more. The hospital is very limited in resources and the Government funding is limited and topped up by EU countries. It has really made me acknowledge how good our NHS is,’ he said.