TENDING 100 SHOW SATURDAY JULY 12 2014
We were very pleased to be invited to participate in the NHS marque
and our display included vintage instrument photographs, historical staff pictures
and six Past Caring Tales.WweewwWWW
We were very pleased to be invited to participate in the NHS marque
and our display included vintage instrument photographs, historical staff pictures
and six Past Caring Tales.WweewwWWW
An informal evening at The Firstsite Gallery
Colchester CO1 1JH Friday November 21st 2014
Colleagues met in a relaxed and informal setting with laughter, talk ...... and curry and.... magic!
There was a display of information about the medical society and the history of medicine in Colchester.
Dr Paul Marfleet comments on an unusual and enjoyable gathering
We may well be able to determine a diagnosis from a myriad of vague symptoms; we may be able to make a rash vanish with the appropriate cream and some of us might perform a rescue operation on a compromised abdomen. However, there was no way that even a couple of paracetamol could lower the temperature during a high energy performance by Michael J Fitch at the Medical Society Meeting on Friday 21st November at First Site.
Jonathan Evans-Jones had decided to change the format of this meeting to a less formal ‘curry with
entertainment’ and what an inspired idea it turned out to be.
59 members enjoyed the more relaxed pre-meal social get-together but once seated at tables, we were all spellbound by the astonishing and unfathomable tricks as Michael J Fitch toured the room.
Rings appeared and disappeared, cards altered their face value with a flick of his wrist and foam strawberries multiplied and vanished only to re-emerge as a mini jar of Wilkins jam!
The main show featured our own Sajit Rahman as an assistant to a rope trick. Anyone who had chosen to sit in the front row became a target (or victim?) for Michael J. and the ventriloquism that saddled poor Sajit with a silly little voice left many of us helpless with laughter and barely able to see through the tears streaming down our faces. Sajit took it all with good grace and found it as funny as the rest of us. Haven’t laughed so much for ages!
Well done Jonathan and well done Michael J Fitch - a really great evening.
SEPTEMBER DINNER
Friday 26th September
Colchester Officers’ Club
Speaker: Mr Steven Large “A Career through a lifetime in Hearts”
Mr Large trained (with Jonathan Evans-Jones) in Guy’s Hospital in the early 1970’s. Initially in general surgery but later in Cardio-thoracic surgery achieving his consultancy in Papworth Hospital where he still works.
He has (in his own words) vacillated between surgery, Research, Teaching and Management
in a long and prestigious career.
A light-hearted and fascinating talk on his experiences.
Friday 26th September
Colchester Officers’ Club
Speaker: Mr Steven Large “A Career through a lifetime in Hearts”
Mr Large trained (with Jonathan Evans-Jones) in Guy’s Hospital in the early 1970’s. Initially in general surgery but later in Cardio-thoracic surgery achieving his consultancy in Papworth Hospital where he still works.
He has (in his own words) vacillated between surgery, Research, Teaching and Management
in a long and prestigious career.
A light-hearted and fascinating talk on his experiences.
Saturday 5th July 2014
SUMMER GARDEN PARTY
In the garden of the home of the President,The Old Rectory, Great Bentley
Three piece band BRILLIANCE provided background music
FARM WALK Sunday 22nd June 2014
The weather was beautiful for this year’s farm walk
– sunny and warm but with a gentle sea breeze.
About twenty members and children enjoyed the usual walk along the seawall with elevated views of the surrounding fields of cattle and sheep. Tea this year was in the newly refurbished Radar Tower. This tower was built in late 1940 to house a shore based version of an RDF (Radio Direction Finding - aka Radar).
11 towers were built and this is one of just two known still to exist. The other is at Harwich.
The RDF scanner was housed inside the building on the top floor. The operators worked on the floor below and the ground floor housed the generator and 'living quarters'.
Visit to Chavase VC House on 2nd April 2014
Chavasse VC House is the Garrison Personnel Recovery Centre part funded by Help for Heroes which opened in Colchester in 2012. It is a wonderful facility for helping injured servicemen and women in the final stages of recovery from their physical or mental trauma towards either reintegration to military life, or successful transfer to civilian life.
Steve Schollar, the Centre Manager, was due to speak at the Medical Society meeting in September 2013 but was unable to do so at the last minute on account of illness. He arranged this trip as an alternative.
Chavasse VC House is the Garrison Personnel Recovery Centre part funded by Help for Heroes which opened in Colchester in 2012. It is a wonderful facility for helping injured servicemen and women in the final stages of recovery from their physical or mental trauma towards either reintegration to military life, or successful transfer to civilian life.
Steve Schollar, the Centre Manager, was due to speak at the Medical Society meeting in September 2013 but was unable to do so at the last minute on account of illness. He arranged this trip as an alternative.
“The first 15 minutes…..” !
“The first 15 minutes is critical on the battlefield” Steve Schollar General Manager of Chavasse VC House told a group of about 20 MedSoc members on Wednesday 2 April. “In Emergency Medicine in the NHS you think that the first hour is critical, but on the battlefield the Armed Forces think that the first 15 minutes are critical”. Such is the scale of injuries sustained by wounded personnel that the aim is to start resuscitation within that time scale, if possible. But this immediate intervention means that more and more wounded are recovered from the battle zone with the most horrific injuries - multiple amputations, burns, blinding and hearing damage.
Brought back to this country they will first be intensively treated at Headley Court and put well on the path to recovery and a return to civilian life. Chavasse VC House is a step further down that road to recovery and a return to some sort of normality. ! Chavasse VC House, Colchester, is named for Noel Chavasse, an army doctor who won two VCs during the First World War for his bravery in recovering wounded soldiers under enemy fire despite being badly wounded himself; sadly he died of his wounds within a few days. It is part of a network of 5 Support and Recovery Centres which were set up by the armed services some 7 years ago to provide lifelong support for Service men and women, who have sustained life-changing injuries, and their families. !
The wounded and injured from the recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan but also from older conflicts - Bosnia, Falklands - can access these superb facilities. Although ‘State of the Art’ describes the facilities, as Steve says, “It’s all about the blokes”, and he leads a team of cheerful and enthusiastic professionals who together can provide psychological, emotional, financial and employment advice and support under one roof. This is not a hotel for life, but a step on the way to returning to life outside or even sometimes back to duty, and their achievements are amazing. !
The hierarchy of service life is put aside when they enter Chavasse VC House, there is no Officer/ Other Ranks divide, and they all wear civilian clothes. The injured become part of a ‘Band of Brothers’ while their families, partners, and carers (male and female)
become part of the ‘Band of Sisters’ which aims to provide psychological and practical support for the huge emotional demands that these injuries place on their nearest and dearest. !
Although the physical injuries are what we usually have in mind, Steve Schollar reminded us of the “hidden wounds” suffered by many. For every death in Iraq and Afghanistan, there will be 8 severe and life-changing injuries, for each of those eight there will be another 10 less severely wounded, and for each of that 10 there will be another 10 with psychological damage from their battle experiences.
Chavasse VC House will also help this group deal with their problems with the aim of helping them to live on their own. !
It was an interesting and thought-provoking evening, not a fun experience, but it is quite incredible what can be achieved with belief and encouragement - a double amputee rock-climbing? The NHS could do with some of this attitude. !
For a flavour of what Chavasse VC House can achieve, have a look at their website at http://www.helpforheroes.org.uk/how-we-help/recovery-centres/colchester-essex
Dr Michael Monk
“The first 15 minutes is critical on the battlefield” Steve Schollar General Manager of Chavasse VC House told a group of about 20 MedSoc members on Wednesday 2 April. “In Emergency Medicine in the NHS you think that the first hour is critical, but on the battlefield the Armed Forces think that the first 15 minutes are critical”. Such is the scale of injuries sustained by wounded personnel that the aim is to start resuscitation within that time scale, if possible. But this immediate intervention means that more and more wounded are recovered from the battle zone with the most horrific injuries - multiple amputations, burns, blinding and hearing damage.
Brought back to this country they will first be intensively treated at Headley Court and put well on the path to recovery and a return to civilian life. Chavasse VC House is a step further down that road to recovery and a return to some sort of normality. ! Chavasse VC House, Colchester, is named for Noel Chavasse, an army doctor who won two VCs during the First World War for his bravery in recovering wounded soldiers under enemy fire despite being badly wounded himself; sadly he died of his wounds within a few days. It is part of a network of 5 Support and Recovery Centres which were set up by the armed services some 7 years ago to provide lifelong support for Service men and women, who have sustained life-changing injuries, and their families. !
The wounded and injured from the recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan but also from older conflicts - Bosnia, Falklands - can access these superb facilities. Although ‘State of the Art’ describes the facilities, as Steve says, “It’s all about the blokes”, and he leads a team of cheerful and enthusiastic professionals who together can provide psychological, emotional, financial and employment advice and support under one roof. This is not a hotel for life, but a step on the way to returning to life outside or even sometimes back to duty, and their achievements are amazing. !
The hierarchy of service life is put aside when they enter Chavasse VC House, there is no Officer/ Other Ranks divide, and they all wear civilian clothes. The injured become part of a ‘Band of Brothers’ while their families, partners, and carers (male and female)
become part of the ‘Band of Sisters’ which aims to provide psychological and practical support for the huge emotional demands that these injuries place on their nearest and dearest. !
Although the physical injuries are what we usually have in mind, Steve Schollar reminded us of the “hidden wounds” suffered by many. For every death in Iraq and Afghanistan, there will be 8 severe and life-changing injuries, for each of those eight there will be another 10 less severely wounded, and for each of that 10 there will be another 10 with psychological damage from their battle experiences.
Chavasse VC House will also help this group deal with their problems with the aim of helping them to live on their own. !
It was an interesting and thought-provoking evening, not a fun experience, but it is quite incredible what can be achieved with belief and encouragement - a double amputee rock-climbing? The NHS could do with some of this attitude. !
For a flavour of what Chavasse VC House can achieve, have a look at their website at http://www.helpforheroes.org.uk/how-we-help/recovery-centres/colchester-essex
Dr Michael Monk
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING Friday 28th March 2014
The Wivenhoe Park Hotel Speaker: David Woodings
Dr Woodings trained in Cambridge and The Middlesex Hospital, initially in Haematology. His interest in drug development led him to became a medical advisor to a number of Pharmaceutical companies including Glaxo, Roussel and Schwarz.
This work allowed him contact with Drug Regulatory Authorities and he later joined the MHRA
(then the MCA) initially as a consultant, then as a senior civil servant until his retirement in 2007.
He describe his tripartite career including many amusing (he hopes) anecdotes and discussED drug development, licensing, and development expressing opinions, probably contentious, about improving or changing the system.
Presidential Meeting 2014 Friday January 17th
The Moot Hall, Colchester
Speaker: Mr Jonathan Evans-Jones President, Colchester Medical Society
The Texas syndrome - what women hide