The groundbreaking move was achieved when surgeon Liam Horgan and sister Lillian Broatch, from Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, visited the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre in Tanzania last month.

Surgeons from North Tyneside can now support Tanzanian surgeons remotely during operations, allowing them to see the operation as it takes place and speak to those carrying out the operation.

Over the last three years, Mr Horgan has travelled to Tanzania to train surgeons in laparoscopic techniques, believing the use of keyhole surgery will dramatically improve the situation in Africa.

He said: "People may think that laparoscopic (keyhole) surgery is too high tech or advanced for use in hospitals in Africa, and yet it is exactly what is needed to help reduce the numbers of patients waiting for operations in crowded surgical wards.

"The incisions needed for keyhole surgery are tiny, which means there is less risk of infection and more chance of the patient being able to return home within 24 hours.

"Using conventional surgery and large incisions means that the risk of infection is higher and patients also have to spend much longer periods in hospital to recover from the operation."

He said: "This means that the patient cannot return to work or home life as quickly as they would be able to after laparoscopic surgery."

The telecommunications infrastru-cture in Tanzania had never been able to support a transmission like this.

A spokesperson from the telecommunications company in Tanzania said: "The opportunity to be involved in the advancement of health services education was very exciting for TTCL.

"Together we reached a milestone in the continued goals of improving the lives of Tanzanians, through improved healthcare and communications."

The link was made possible thanks to the hard work of OR Networks Ltd while funding for the project was raised by the Wilson family at Dene House Farm in Longframlington, for which the trust are extremely grateful for the support.