Moorfields nurse consultant awarded MBE

Moorfields Eye Hospital nurse consultant Adam Mapani has been awarded the Member of the Order of the British Empire medal (MBE) in the Queen’s birthday honours list published today.

This is in recognition of his substantial contributions to the field of ophthalmology, and in particular the rollout and delivery of intravitreal injections by non-medical staff. Adam has trained and mentored over 1,200 nurses and allied healthcare professionals, around two thirds of all those who currently administer intraocular injections in the UK.

When NICE (the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) licenced these sight saving injections in 2008, it placed an extra burden on the busiest outpatient speciality within the NHS. There were few trained ophthalmologists across the NHS able to meet the demands created by these new sight saving therapies. Adam saw that nurses and allied healthcare professionals could help bridge this gap, and he began advocating with policy makers as well as training professionals.

Adam was one of the first nurses to carry out these injections, establishing a pioneering service with other senor leaders in Moorfields in 2012 to help patients with medical retina conditions (including age-related macular degeneration, retinal vein occlusions and diabetic macular oedema).

Adam is Zimbabwean. He studied in the United Kingdom, and has been working at Moorfields for 18 years, during which time he has progressed to become the first-ever nurse consultant at Moorfields and in Ophthalmology.  His passion for extended roles in nursing and in particular the delivery of intravitreal injections has taken him to 15 countries to share learning and educate tomorrow’s leaders. He has given more than 200 presentations at conferences at home and across the globe.  He has also made trips to provide eye care as a volunteer in Kenya, Uganda, and Zimbabwe with the World Sight Foundation and Abalon Trust, an international eye care charity that provides eye clinics to medically underserved communities in sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean. 

Over the past few months Adam has also been working with African communities in the UK to challenge reticence in receiving the Covid-19 vaccine. His voice, alongside other healthcare professionals, pastors and community leaders, has challenged many of the myths around the Covid-19 vaccine that can prevent people in communities most vulnerable to coronavirus from receiving its protection.

His passion for supporting others extends to mentoring.  He was the first nurse to be included in The Global Ophthalmologist’s Power List (in 2019) in recognition of this work. He was commended as the Ophthalmology Nurse of the Year in 2017 in the Bayer Ophthalmology Honours. In 2019, Adam was given the Gold Award by the chief nursing officer for England in recognition of his ophthalmology contributions including international leadership in the rollout of advanced practice. He was also honoured in person by the Prime Minister in 2020 as an inspirational BAME leader.

Adam 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 saved 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, commented: “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.”

Tracy Luckett, chief nurse and director of allied health professions at Moorfields, added: "Adam has shown talented ophthalmology nurses and allied health professionals what it is possible to achieve. I am absolutely delighted for him, he thoroughly deserves this accolade.”