Autumn Newsletter 2026

This year has seen a gradual return to normality after the relative inaction of 2024. Back in February we once again began sending volunteers to the Biomedical Engineering Diploma course at Kyambogo University, Kampala after an absence  of some 12 months. Mr Terry Timmons (Manchester University NHS FT) ran a two week-long session on Medical Gases and Anaesthetic machines, and Jas Bilkhu (ex-Wolverhampton Hospital) once again brought to bear his own excellence with Ultrasound machines.

The emphasis, as ever, was on the practical aspects of maintenance and repair, and all 24 students were fully engaged and as appreciative as ever. Although the hoped-for Autumn 2025 semester never materialised it has now been confirmed that we are returning in this coming February (2026), and that this will indeed lead to a second semester in the Autumn of 2026.

We are also in the process of organising a return to Evelyn Hone College in Lusaka, Zambia some time after May 2026. This will definitely go ahead, so anyone reading this newsletter who is keen to volunteer please get in touch with us as soon as possible with an up-to-date CV and details of what specific machines you would feel comfortable to lead practical sessions on over one or two weeks.

We are now offering one-day online interactive training sessions over Zoom free of charge to small groups of biomedical engineers in low resource settings. This of course requires a stable internet connection at the receiving end, but nowadays this is only likely to be an issue in more remote areas. At our end we are making use of the online suite at Hilditch Group’s headquarters in Malmesbury, which also gives us access to a very wide range of equipment from their auction floor.

In March Martin represented the Trust at the EBME Leaders Network meeting in London, and then EBME itself in June, where we had a very good response over the two days from Engineers wanting to find out more about our work and happy to join our database. A healthy number also expressed a wish to volunteer with us, either in the field or by running an online session, so I would ask them to keep their eyes out for that “Call for Volunteers” email which goes out when we are planning our placements.

At our AGM this year the Trustees raised the all-important question of whether or not we are still meeting the needs or African biomedical engineers appropriately, and whether the equipment in many of our target countries may well have seen a step change in recent years given the high level of involvement of China as a supplier of medical equipment to the continent of Africa. We are of course ever mindful of the fact that the Trust only exists in order to help in the development of Biomedical Engineering in Low Resource countries, and so we need to be sure that what we are offering is as relevant and up to date as possible. To this end we are planning some research in both Uganda and Zambia in the coming year to see exactly what equipment is out there, not just in the big urban hospitals, but also, with the help of some of our past students, the more remote rural clinics, which after all cater for a large proportion of the populations of these two countries. We would welcome any comments, suggestions or input from anyone reading this newsletter. Just email your thoughts to info@amaltheatrust.org.uk 

Finally, it only remains for all of us at the Amalthea Trust to pass on our very best wishes for the Festive Season, and to wish you all every health and happiness in 2026.

The Amalthea Trust Team.

November 2025