AN AIREDALE hospital anaesthetist has been putting best foot forward to raise cash for a developing world charity he set up with friends.

Dr Govindaraju Ramana, decided to walk 10 miles from Grassington to Bolton Abbey earlier this month in aid of Medical and Optical Aid.

Dr Ramana, who lives in Sutton, also wanted to raise money for his next project, which is to help improve sanitation facilities in Africa and India.

Dr Ramana has been involved with charity work for the past 12 years and has recently provided two medical camps.

In March last year he travelled to Nepal and in January this year went to India to provide medical and optical treatment where it was most needed.

The camps are set up in remote villages in areas without access to medical facilities, such as nearby doctors and pharmacies, or where people live below the poverty line and can never afford to visit the doctor.

In the past he has attended three surgical camps in Sierra Leone, where he and other staff provided surgical treatment to people in need.   

Last year, Dr Ramana's charity raised £10,000 for Nepal earthquake relief, along with funding a soup kitchen in Bradford for the homeless and helping the 'Vision Care' charity in Leeds.

Dr Ramana, a consultant anaesthetist at Airedale NHS Foundation Trust, said: "There is a lot of work to do for people suffering in this world. It gives me immense pleasure and satisfaction when I do this work.”   

Dr Eleanor Checkley, a fellow consultant anaesthetist, said her colleague did amazing work.

She added: "I really admire him for his massive donations of time and money to his causes.  He has used his annual leave for years to go and do his medical charity work in various countries. We are very proud of him.”

To support Dr Raman, visit the Just Giving website and type Venkata Govindaraju into the search box.