Eye nurse consultant made MBE after sight-saving injection work
A Moorfields Eye Hospital nurse consultant who helped train hundreds of health workers who administer sight-saving injections has been honoured with an MBE.
Adam Mapani (pictured) is recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list for his services to ophthalmology, which include his contribution to the rollout and delivery of intravitreal – inside the eye – injections by non-medical staff.
When these jabs were licensed by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) in 2008, the NHS found itself with few trained ophthalmologists able to meet the demands created by these new therapies.
Mr Mapani believed that nurses and other allied healthcare professionals could help bridge the gap.
He has trained and mentored more than 1,200 people, around two thirds of all those who currently administer intraocular injections in the UK.
As one of the first nurses to carry out these injections, Mr Mapani, alongside others at Moorfields in 2012, established a pioneering service to help patients with medical retina conditions, including age-related macular degeneration, retinal vein occlusions and diabetic macular oedema.
Originally from Zimbabwe, he studied in the UK and has worked at Moorfields in London for 18 years, progressing to become the hospital’s first-ever nurse consultant in ophthalmology.
In this time he has travelled across the world to share his expertise, delivered more than 200 presentations, and provided voluntary eye care in Kenya, Uganda and Zimbabwe.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, Mr Mapani worked with the UK’s African communities to challenge vaccine hesitancy and myths.
He said: “I am humbled to receive this honour. While I am proud that my efforts have been recognised, I owe a huge debt to colleagues at Moorfields who have supported me in my practice and championed my cause.
“I am also extremely grateful to the nurses in the UK and beyond who have helped save the sight of hundreds of thousands of people with their injections.
“It is a privilege to make a difference to the lives of patients and healthcare professionals.”
David Probert, chief executive of Moorfields Eye Hospital, said: “It has been a huge pleasure to work alongside Adam and see his leadership and impact over many years.
“His dedication, perseverance and energy have enabled him to make a difference to many, many patients both in the UK and across the world.”
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