An emergency medicine consultant has helped open a treatment centre in Bangladesh after committing three weeks of her time to the UK Emergency Medical Team.

Dr Claire Gray works for the Princess Royal University Hospital in Farnborough and is returning to south-east London on Friday (January 19).

She lives in Honor Oak Park and she spoke about the Bangladesh trip where she helped refugee children suffering with diphtheria.

Leaving behind her family, friends and her dog Molly was the most challenging part but her loved ones were supportive of her decision.

Dr Gray said: “They thought it was great. They knew I wanted to do this kind of work. They were aware of the crisis here and thought it was a great opportunity to come and help. They were proud.”

One of the best memories of the trip was opening an AA Medical Centre and welcoming its first patient.

She explained: “We set out to deliver something, and when you actually see it making people better, that has to be something that you are proud of.

“Being able to treat the first patient with an anti-toxin reminded me how many hurdles we had overcome to get there, and how we were now actually saving lives.”

Since becoming a medical profession Dr Gray has had an ambition to combine humanitarian work with A&E.

This was her first experience of that.

Dr Gray spent the three weeks in a camp in Rohingya where she was surprised by the positivity of the people affected by the country's 2015 refugee crisis.

She said: "The size of the camp is mind-blowing, but it is surprising that there is not more despair. Despite everything, the Rohingya people are trying to be positive.

"You have to remember that Bangladesh is a really poor country. Bangladeshi input - from the local staff we are working with – is really impressive, given how little people in this country have. The staff here have stepped up and are making a difference."

Dr Gray added that the reasons she devoted her skills to help was because people have been "deprived of a right to work, to own their own land, to identify themselves - freedoms we enjoy in the UK".