by Professor Christopher Liu OBE, Founder of British Chinese Ophthalmic Society.
When I was a medical student in the 80s, planning a career in ophthalmology, there were very few ophthalmologists of Chinese descent in the UK. Mr Hung Cheng was a consultant at the Oxford Eye Hospital. I had also met David Wong during my elective at Moorfields. These seniors inspired me and gave friendly advice. I noticed a change of ethnic mix in UK ophthalmologists in the last decade or so. There are now many more consultants and trainees originating from Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and elsewhere. However, we are still very much a minority. I thought to myself, wouldn’t it be nice to form a UK and Éire community with a common heritage and culture?
One year in the making, the BCOS came into being, earlier this year. Our inaugural meeting took place on the first evening of the RCOphth Annual Congress in Birmingham. Mr Velota Sung organised the dinner which was thoroughly enjoyed by over thirty members. We have set up a WhatsApp group and expect the membership to grow from the current fifty to a hundred. We plan to meet face to face thrice annually in different parts of the UK. Please email me on BCOS8888@gmail.com if you are interested in joining BCOS.
