BLACKBURN doctors and nurses are set to travel to India to help perform ‘life-changing’ procedures on children.

Up to 25 members of the anaesthetic team from the Royal Blackburn Hospital will assist surgeons from across the country in operations on youngsters born with cleft palates.

And nurses from the hospital are holding a fundraising event for the charity behind the trip, The Northern Cleft Foundation, to help cover the average £130 cost per child for the operation.

Dr George Teterswamy, anesthetist at the hospital will travel to India in January for the eighth year running.

He said: “Each project aims to treat as many children as possible in a safe and controlled environment and to help surgeons in these developing areas manage these patients themselves in the future.”

Dr Teterswamy added: “Families are over the moon when they see the outcome, it is an emotional experience for everyone.

"Parents just cry and say “I don’t recognize my child.”

The Northern Cleft Foundation is a ‘not for profit’ organisation and relies heavily on fundraising over the year to help fund the cost of surgery for each cleft lip palate.

It has been established for 14 years and has ‘strived to provide’ care for children throughout the world in need of surgery to repair facial defects.

This year, the team consists of surgeons from London, Liverpool and Swansea, with a dedicated team of anaesthetists, theatre operating staff and nursing staff.

Zoe Critchley, an anaesthetic nurse from Royal Blackburn Hospital, will be travelling to India for the first time and says staff pay for all of their own expenses.

She has organised the charity auction and raffle and wants to help as many children as possible.

She said: “We are planning to raise a lot of cash for lots of operations and urge people to donate to such a good cause.”

The charity event will be held on Saturday November 15 at Langho and Billington Community Centre.

Tickets are £5 each, if anybody would like to make a donation please contact Zoe Critchley on 01254 247537.