A JUNIOR doctor at Royal Bournemouth Hospital will be spending her annual leave volunteering and setting up medical clinics for impoverished children in Uganda.

Dr Becky Hancock will be spending several weeks offering her expertise as part of a medical mission in Ziroobwe, a short distance from the capital city of Kampala.

The 25-year-old doctor will be working in orphanages, primary schools and medical clinics, carrying out health checks and helping with health education and caring for younger children.

She spent her six-week elective assisting in hospitals in Cameroon and took part in a similar medical mission to Ghana during her annual leave last year. The trip to Uganda will see her working alongside the Empower a Child charity which seeks to give orphaned and vulnerable children a better quality of life. Dr Hancock said: “Every time I volunteer my time it feels absolutely overwhelming and as soon as I’m home I feel the need to go back again.

“It’s such a rewarding and refreshing experience because it feels so good to use my skills where they are really needed and appreciated.

“There is such a shortage of doctors which means the simplest things can have an immediate effect and make a huge difference, like giving a child with dehydration some salt solution capsules.”

She will be keeping an online blog over the next few months to keep people updated about her preparations, which can be accessed at beckyhancock .weebly.com During her trip to Ghana last year, she took 100 pairs of glasses with her, donated by the congregation at Bournemouth Community Church. Dr Hancock hopes to raise around £1,500 so she can bring medical supplies and cover the costs of her trip which starts on October 31.

Her fundraising page can be accessed at gogetfunding.com/ project/becky-s-mission-to-uganda