Integra Healthcare Launches Consultant-Led Ophthalmology Service in Grand Cayman, Led by Dr Brenda Mulenga

Integra Healthcare has launched a new consultant-led Ophthalmology service, offering residents of the Cayman Islands comprehensive specialist eye care, from routine examinations and screening through to advanced laser treatment and surgery.

The service is led by Dr Brenda Mulenga, a UK-trained Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon who joins Integra as Lead Ophthalmologist. Dr Mulenga is one of a small number of consultant ophthalmologists practising in the Cayman Islands, and brings fellowship training in paediatric
ophthalmology alongside expertise in medical retina, glaucoma care, anterior segment, neuro-ophthalmology and ocular inflammatory disease.

Consultations take place at Integra Healthcare at Harbour Walk in Grand Harbour, with surgical procedures carried out in the operating theatre at Doctors Hospital. The service cares for patients of all ages, from newborns to older adults.

What this means for the Cayman Islands

For an island community, access to specialist care on-island makes a real difference. The new service means more Cayman residents can have complex eye conditions diagnosed, treated and followed up locally, with fewer needing to travel overseas for specialist assessment or surgery, and less time, cost and disruption for patients and their families.

Rapid local access also matters when time is critical. Conditions such as sudden vision loss, retinal tears, acute glaucoma and eye injuries need prompt specialist attention, and the service offers consultant-led urgent assessment in coordination with Doctors Hospital, helping to reduce
avoidable sight loss.

The service also responds to the long-term health needs of the community. Diabetes and high blood pressure can both damage eyesight, often without early symptoms, and regular screening helps catch problems before vision is permanently affected. Because the ophthalmology team
works alongside Integra’s endocrinologist, paediatricians, dermatologists, obstetricians and family physicians, patients whose eye health is linked to wider conditions benefit from fully integrated care under one roof, such as pregnant patients with diabetes or children with juvenile
arthritis.

For families, the launch brings fellowship-trained paediatric ophthalmology into private practice in Cayman, a specialist area of particular value to the islands’ young families. Dr Mulenga undertook her subspecialty fellowship at Queensland Children’s Hospital, and the service offers
screening for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) in newborns, assessment of childhood eye conditions including lazy eye and squint, and children’s eye surgery.

The service also brings specialist expertise in neuro-ophthalmology and ocular inflammation, including uveitis. These areas matter for patients whose vision is affected by stroke, pituitary or other neurological conditions, or by autoimmune disease.

About Dr Brenda Mulenga

Dr Mulenga is no stranger to the Cayman Islands. During her time with the Cayman Islands Health Services Authority (HSA), she played a key role in strengthening the national Ophthalmology service, improving patient access, efficiency and patient experience, with the Eye Department recording patient satisfaction scores well above the hospital average. That work formed part of the progress recognised by the Best of Cayman Islands Eye Care Services
Silver Award in 2024.

She trained at Manchester Royal Eye Hospital, one of Europe’s largest specialist eye units, earning a Fellowship of the Royal College of Ophthalmologists (FRCOphth) and a UK Certificate of Completion of Training. She went on to complete subspecialty fellowship training in Paediatric
Ophthalmology at Queensland Children’s Hospital in Brisbane, Australia. She brings more than nine years of consultant-level experience across the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia and the Cayman Islands, and also holds an MBA in Healthcare Management.

Dr Mulenga is registered with the Medical and Dental Council of the Cayman Islands, the General Medical Council (UK), the Medical Council of New Zealand and the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta (Canada).

Matthew Pellow, Medical Director of Integra Healthcare, said:

“Our goal at Integra has always been to bring high-quality, specialist care to the people of the Cayman Islands, so that fewer families have to leave the island to get the treatment they need. Adding Ophthalmology is a significant step in that journey. Eye health touches so many other areas of medicine, from diabetes and high blood pressure to children’s development and autoimmune conditions, and having a consultant ophthalmologist working alongside our endocrinology, paediatric, dermatology and family medicine teams means we can care for patients in a far more joined-up way.

“We are delighted to welcome Dr Mulenga to the Integra team. She already has deep roots in Cayman and a proven track record of improving eye care here, and her fellowship training in paediatric ophthalmology, together with her expertise in neuro-ophthalmology and ocular inflammation, adds specialist skills that Cayman’s families have not always been able to findlocally. She is the ideal person to lead this service.”

Service highlights

The Integra Healthcare Ophthalmology service covers the full spectrum of eye care, including:

• Consultations and screening: comprehensive adult and paediatric eye examinations, diabetic and hypertensive eye screening, glaucoma assessment, screening for medication-related eye effects (such as hydroxychloroquine/Plaquenil), and eye screening for employment medicals.
• Surgery: cataract surgery (including combined procedures), squint surgery for children and adults, eyelid (oculoplastic) surgery, pterygium or “surfer’s eye” removal, ocular trauma surgery and minor procedures.
• Laser and injection treatments: retinal laser, glaucoma laser (including SLT and YAG peripheral iridotomy), YAG capsulotomy for clouding after cataract surgery, and anti-VEGF injections for wet macular degeneration and diabetic macular oedema.
• Urgent and emergency eye care: rapid consultant-led assessment for sudden vision loss, suspected retinal detachment, acute glaucoma, eye injuries and severe infections, in coordination with Doctors Hospital.
• Children’s eye care: ROP screening for newborns, visual development checks, amblyopia (lazy eye), squint and congenital cataract management.
• Subspecialty interests: glaucoma, medical retina, paediatric ophthalmology, ocular inflammation (including uveitis), neuro-ophthalmology, and cornea and anterior segment disease.

Dr Brenda Mulenga, Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon and Lead Ophthalmologist at Integra Healthcare, said:

“Cayman has been home to my family and I, and it is a real privilege to continue serving this community. Good vision affects every part of daily life, and many of the conditions that threaten it, such as glaucoma and diabetic eye disease, can be managed far more successfully when
they are caught early. My priority is to make specialist eye care accessible, from a child’s first eye check to cataract surgery later in life, and to make sure patients don’t have to leave the island for care we can safely provide here.

“I believe the best outcomes come from partnership: with patients and families, with local optometrists and family doctors, and with my colleagues at Integra. Working as part of a multidisciplinary team means we can look after the whole person, not just their eyes.”

Appointments

Appointments with Dr Mulenga can be booked online at integra.ky or by calling Integra Healthcare on +1 (345) 745 7450 (Monday to Friday 8am–5pm, Saturday 8.30am–1pm). Clinics are held at Harbour Walk, 52A Edgewater Way, Grand Harbour, Grand Cayman.

About Integra Healthcare

Integra Healthcare is a multidisciplinary medical practice in Grand Cayman, providing consultant-led specialist and family care from its clinics at The Grand Pavilion Commercial Centre on West Bay Road and Harbour Walk in Grand Harbour. Its services span family medicine, paediatrics and newborn care, obstetrics and gynaecology, dermatology, endocrinology, psychiatry and now ophthalmology. For more information, visit www.integra.ky.