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INCORPORATING THE ST MARYS AND CHARING CROSS GAZETTE Vol 12:02 Summer 2012

ICSM Gazette Summer 2012

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Page 1: ICSM Gazette Summer 2012

IncorporatIng the St Mary’S

and charIng croSS

gazette

Vol 12:02 Summer 2012

Page 2: ICSM Gazette Summer 2012

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Dear Readers,

Once again we cannot bring exclusively good news from the student scene - this term has seen some mixed results from our biggest sports clubs, in both United Hospitals Cup matches and against Imperial College.

Whilst there has not been universal success on a sporting front the arts have faired somewhat better - Music Society have performed two concerts to great acclaim, and the Drama Society production of “Some Like it Hot” was equally well recieved by sell out crowds.

As well as working on these printed Gazettes this year we have devoted a lot of time and effort to creating a website on which past issues can be read. As well as this we now have an online blog, which consists mostly of comic articles, for the young and young at heart!

This edition will be my last Gazette as editor. It has been a great privilege to have had the chance to contribute to such a historic and important publication. The last two years have not been easy ones for the Gazette - as with many other student led activities we have seen our budget slashed by almost 50%, and early in my tenure there were many calls for the Gazette to be scrapped altogether. I am pleased to say that we recieved considerable support from David Hunt, Kevin Brown and the rest of the St Mary’s Association to help us through what was a difficult time. We are also indebted to two Student Union Presidents, David Smith and Suzie Rayner for their unwavering support, and for devoting signiicant time to rebuilding the reputation of the Gazette.

Taking over from me is Patrick McGown, who I’m sure will do an excellent job. He may even notice the myriad spelling errors that I miss each edition.

I hope you enjoy reading this Gazette,

Oliver Gale-GrantGazette Editor 2010-2012

Cover Artwork - A Day on the River, by Mariam Zahedi

An apology - We have had a complaint regarding “The Top 10”, on pages 16 and 17 of the Spring Gazette. No offence, religious or otherwise, was intended and I apologise wholeheartedly.

Editorial Contents

4 - State of the Union6 - News7 - Introducing Gazette Extra7 - Cornwall Tour Report10 - STFYD Report13 - Fashion Show Report14 - The Top 1016 - Clubs and Socs21 - St Mary’s Association Newsletter27 - Peter Richards Memorial28 - Obituaries31 - ICSM Alumni32 - Travel34 - Fresher Spotting Guide

EditorOliver Gale-Grant

Blog EditorOliver Gale-Grant

ContributorsPatrick McGownJac CooperMatthew Rinaldi Joseph PickThomas PhillipsMichael Field

Secretary Mariam Zahedi

TreasurerParag RavalWith thanks to Peter Davis, SU Treasurer

Honorary PresidentsMr P ParaskevaProf A DaviesProf P Steer

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ICSM Students Union

Welcome to the final edition of the Gazette for 2012-13. Even as exams approach, ICSM remains busy as ever.

Over the last term we have had great success across both sport-ing and artistic fields. ICSM Men’s Hockey 1s beat RUMS to claim the UH cup for a second year, whilst ICSM Netball 1s won the UH tour-nament. Last term ICSM Drama put on ‘Some Like it Hot’ which was a fantastic success, and, at the time of writing, we await ICSM Light Operas ’24 hour Opera’ with baited breath. ICSM Music Society performed multiple concerts last term, including providing the fan-tastic music for the memorial ser-vice of Sir Peter Richards (former dean of St Marys Medical School), and are starting preparation for the Summer Concert on May 12th.

RAG week ran from 20th-24th February, and was a great suc-cess, raising over £40,000 for the

Teenage Cancer Trust. The RAG Val ball held at Kanaloa was a sell out event, marking the return of Final Years from Group 3 Elective and students from all year groups were out!

Whilst a challenging time of year for final years with regard to fi-nals, it is also an exciting time for events celebrating the end of their time at ICSM. The Shrove Tuesday Final Year Dinner, the first event to celebrate the Class of 2012 and their time at ICSM was held at Vinopolis, London Bridge. Guest speaker Dr Fay Probst was entertaining and inspiring and the chosen student speakers provided brilliant insights and hilarious an-ecdotes about their time at ICSM. I look forward to the Summer Ball on Wednesday 27th June at Radis-son Blu Portman Hotel, and am sure that Yannis and his team will make the event an enjoyable and memorable evening. The Summer Ball provides the perfect opportu-nity to celebrate the contribution to the life of ICSM of those leaving us. The class of 2012 have been a hugely dedicated group when it comes to ensuring that other stu-dents have an enjoyable time at ICSM and I look forward to recog-nising this with the ICSM colours awards.

This year has been a fantastic ex-perience for me, something that I will look back on with fond memo-ries. Thank you all for allowing me the honour and privilege of repre-senting such a magnificent medi-cal school. This year has really shown me that the ICSM I already

thought to be a fantastic place is really so much more than that. Thank you to all of ICSMSU Exec, I have been so lucky to be sup-ported by such a fantastic team and the success of this year is en-tirely down to them. And we’ve had fun at the same time, a huge achievement! Similarly, thanks to the clubs and societies officers who have worked so hard for their respective bodies this year. ICSM relies on such dedication from students for students and it is this that creates the community spirit that drives ICSMs success. I am pleased to be handing over to Shiv Vohra and his new exec team who I think will bring fantastic fresh perspectives to the roles and will lead the union to great things!

This year ICSMSU could not have survived without the support of the following – the Faculty, FEO, Imperial College Union, the Im-perial College Healthcare Charity and last but cetainly not least the St Mary’s Association. Thank you for all your kind words and advice over the last year. Finally, I would like to say that sadly this is the last gazette to be edited by Oliver Gale-Grant. Oli has completely revolutionised the Gazette over the last 2 years, and has revived it to make it a real asset to ICSM. Thank you for all your hard work, and the best of luck to Patrick Mc-Gown who will be taking over as Editor next year.

All the best for the future,

Suzie Rayner

President 2011-2012

State of the Union

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£40,000 of RAG money still missingThe money raised by last year’s RAG team remains unaccounted for. Originally destined for the St Mary’s Paediatric department it has left the RAG account but never arrived. This situation is somewhat complicated by the exit of last year’s RAG chair from ICSM, and by the restructuring of the Imperial College Healthcare Charity. Efforts to retrive it are ongoing, and will hopefully prove successful.

Forthcoming EventsComing into the final term of the academic year, there is once again a glut of exciting events for students (and doctors) after their exams. The most important of all is Summer Ball. This year, as usual, the Ball takes place on Final Year results day (the 27th June) at The Radisson Blu Portman Hotel. The day before this is the relaxed, Final Year-focussed Summer Concert at Wilson House recreational centre. On the subject of concerts, the 12th of May sees all of Music Society getting together for the Society Concert at St. Stephen’s Church, Gloucester Road, to sing and play an assortment of Summer-themed music. By the time you read this we will have enjoyed the glorious Sports Dinner, this year at Café de Paris which is one of London’s premier clubs. This year Sports Dinner tickets were so sought after that the Imperial College Union website couldn’t keep up with demand and crashed.

Imperial FestivalComing up on the 11th and 12th of May is the Imperial Festival, an event across the entire South Kensington campus which promises to be an “exciting fiesta of hands-on demonstrations, music, performance and dialogue” encompassing all things that represent Imperial College. This event will be open to the public and includes things such as a simulated surgical demonstration by Professor Roger Kneebone in a repeat of the display he produced at the Science Museum in the Lates exhibitions on 29th February, which was attended by over 4,000 members of the public. The Festival is planned to be an annual event and will start at 18.00 Friday 11th.

News from ICSMResearch, social and everything in between

STFYD, Varsity, UH CupsThe last couple of months saw big events in Shrove Tuesday Final Year Dinner (we weren’t banned from the venue this year), RAG Fashion Show and of course Varsity. This year, not only did we lose to Imperial College overall but also lost the JPR Williams Rugby Cup for the first time ever. Hopefully this will act as a motivation for vengeance next year. More happily on the sporting front, ICSM Men’s Hockey beat RUMS in the UH final 3-1 and Boat Club will hope to push for first place in both the men’s and women’s divisions of UH Bumps on the weekend of the 18th of May.

compiled by Jac Cooper

Prof Timothy Williams made a Fellow of the Royal SocietyAnother Imperial College School of Medicine Scientist, Pharmacologist Emeritus Professor Timothy Williams, has been made a Fellow of the Royal Society for his work on inflammation at the Heart and Lung Institute. Professor Williams acknowledged the honour, saying “The election to the Fellowship is a great honour for me and made possible by all the wonderful colleagues who have worked with me over the years”.

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Introducing the Gazette Blog

Do you, like so many of our less enlightened readers, come back to the common room after an overly long ward round, pick up a copy of the Gazette, ignore all of the well-written and meaningful articles, skip straight to the Top 10, read that, read the Clubs and Socs entry for your club, and then cast your copy aside?

If so then the new Gazette blog,

Gazette Extra, is aimed at you. It’s online only, and is updated approximately whenever we feel like it. The articles are very much student centric, and tend to be light hearted.

They are also potentially more controversial - we do after all have the luxury of being able to remove anything that causes too much complaint with a single click.

So next time you find yourself in desperate need of some procrastination (in my experience that is always) then have a look. There is a particularly enlightening interview with Richard Pasola that is definately worth a read.

If you want to contibute an artile then send your ideas in to [email protected].

www.icsm-gazette.co.uk/extra

Cornwall Tour 2012The truth, good stories and the world in between...

The 5th of April saw a hardened group of tourists collect at the Duke of Cornwall for the start of Cornwall tour. The long season had had an obvious effect meaning only the truly dedicated found their way to this starting point but the anticipation and excitement was still palpable. After waiting for Dr Thomas who admirably came straight from work we were ready to set off on the long journey to St. Ives. Arriving before dark we were greeted at the Howard’s Hotel by Terri and Joe for our 11th year at their wonderful establishment, testament surely to our impeccable behaviour and manners.

This year’s Tour faced a new challenge: The final and real closure of Isobar.

The morning of Good Friday greeted us with glorious sunshine

so a trip to the beach was quickly planned. This resulted in us arriving slightly late at the ground for our match against Redruth RFC. They had promised us that they would put a weakened team

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out for this friendly. However as every year this proved to be a lie as every player was excellent and relishing the frequent contact.

The experienced Redruth side quickly identified the disorganisation of our defence and our lack of an obvious fly half left us unable to gain territory. Without mercy the opposition put us to the sword and came very close to extending our already large injury catalogue.

As per usual the club hosted us very well, making up somewhat for the pain they had just inflicted upon us. Fortunately we were in for quite an event in the evening with full lighting, sound system, bubble and foam machines transforming the Howard’s into a nightclub of sorts. Several lessons were learnt from the ensuing performance - never lend James Morris your hat and leave the Klinsmanns to the footballers.

Later that night in St Ives some of the touring party had the luck of bumping into some of the Leicester squad who were visiting the coastal town. Unfortunately, despite my best efforts, I couldn’t persuade Manu Tuilagi to join

our portfolio of England players. I settled for a photo with him which was fine until a stag-do wandered up and started asking for photos... with Captain America. My costume proved to Manu the kind of celebrity he could’ve enjoyed had he agreed to join a real rugby club.

The next morning saw everyone awake revitalised and ready to take on Penzance and Newlyn amateurs. The Medicals started strongly scoring first and taking the lead for the first time on the tour. However Penzance fought back well and pushed out in front. The sides continued to exchange points with excellent performances from Conor Walsh and Chidi Nzeukwe, who both chalked up tries, and a not so excellent performance from Jamie Rutter who seemed to take pity on Penzance, preventing further Medicals tries. The final score was 52-17 in favour of the home side. A positive to come out of the game was the discovery that Cockburn Scholar Angus Hamilton truly is the consummate player demonstrating excellent kicking out of hand. If only the same could be said for fly-half hopeful Ollie Clough.

That evening was the Spraffle. In this exciting competition everyone’s a winner and no one goes home empty handed. Unified by this group experience everyone managed to go out in the same town for the first night of the tour. Surprisingly this was St. Ives despite Crazy Marc explaining that all the dairy maids in Cornwall were congregating in Penzance that night. Depressingly it seemed that milking season was over.

Sunday as a day for rest saw a lie in for some and a round of golf for others. Later, defying the English weather which had returned to form, we were fortunate enough to be invited to the Corin family home for a BBQ. This very popular day is made one of the highlights of tour by the combination of Cornish cider, endless meat, a hot tub and the absence of angry rugby players attempting to decapitate you. Sadly this day also tends to see an exodus of players who pine for the busy streets and stifling tube carriages of home. The remaining touring party soldiered on back to Howard’s for Captains night and a final night in St. Ives.

Easter Monday brings the end of tour within sight with one last obstacle... St. Ives RFC. After tolerating our nightly shenanigans in town the Hakes are often willing to play a more relaxed fixture than the other two.

With the weather really rolling in at their ground at the top of St. Ives it felt as if this historic fixture was being played in the atmospheric surroundings of a cloud. Another strong start by the medicals took the opposition by surprise and we went ahead early. St. Ives fought back and the scores were level at half time. A try from man of the match Conor Walsh took us

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ahead but the adverse conditions prevented us from unleashing our powerful backs effectively and the larger forwards of St. Ives played a strong tight game. An injury to Chidi Nzekwue further reduced our attacking potential. With scores at 17-19 going into the final minutes a penalty on the St Ives 22 gave the medicals a chance to seize the victory they so badly wanted. A combination of gale force wind and a faulty Cornish cone prevented Angus’ commendable attempt claiming the 3 points, resulting in a frustrating loss by just 2 points. Honourable mention goes to Sean McKeon who showed what a scrum half can achieve without carrying an extra stone around but another fine performance saw Conor Walsh named player of the tour. Regardless of the conditions and result the game was played in wonderful spirits and seemed to be thoroughly enjoyed by all. After a warming shower it was time to bid farewell to St. Ives until next year.

A big thank you goes to those that attended. Tour, as ever is a great way to bond as a club, although most people probably feel they now know James Morris a little too well.

Further thanks go to the 3 sides who continue to honour the fixture year on year for their hospitality. Thanks also go to the

St. Mary’s Hospital association for their generous grant which allowed the tour to be affordable in these tough economic times. This tour remains a highlight in the season and long may it continue.

Simon Cole

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STFYD 2012For those who managed to navigate the mean streets of London Bridge and find the venue; a great time was had by all at the eagerly awaited Shrove Tuesday Final Year Dinner, held at the prestigious Vinopolis- The City of Wine.

It was a night of ICSM traditions, memories and hopes for the future as the final years drunk away their final-exams-panic, looking for the answer to Guillian-Barre at the bottom of their glasses.

Our soon-to-be-doctors were greeted with a champagne reception and many enjoyed taking pictures with the extravagant ICSM Phoenix Ice Sculpture – which soon became a target for mass-licking (public health nightmare), studying the infamous Web and filing through ICSM memorabilia and elective postcards.

The 3-course-dinner was interjected with speeches from student speakers Ola Markiewicz, Saager Patel and Omar Hafeez Bore who regaled tales from

the old days including MCD nightmares, the Daily Mail article and the dreaded first day of firms in 3rd yr.

Dr Fey Probst delivered the Guest Orator Speech and was warmly welcomed by guests for her unwavering commitment to medical student teaching over the years.

The highlight of the night for most was the outrageous consultant video where famous faces from our medical school let their hair down to filmed a comedy music video in recognition of how far the final years have come (and how many laughs the consultants have had at their expense). Students were wowed by the alternative production of LMFAO’s “Sexy and I Know It” featuring favourites such as Dr Mirza, Mr Pareskeva, Dr Steve Gentlemen and Profs Meeran and Laycock! If you haven’t seen the video – find it and watch it!

Post dinner entertainments in the form of the iconic photo booth and final year band kept our final years happy (as did the profuse

quantities of wine cosumed by all) as they danced the night away.

The night was a great success, as the final years enjoyed taking one last nostalgic look at their time at ICSM before the hard work of finals really begins.

Thanks to the committee who organised the complex event, led by the ever present and tireless Anil Chopra, to the Consultants that came to help the final years celebrate, and obviously the Final Years that came- their year group, universally acclaimed as a particularly strong one in extra curricular and social terms will be sorely missed and we wish them the best of luck in their exams!

Sophie Moin

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UH Victories End Mixed Sporting Season

2012 was not a vintage year on the ICSM sporting front. Indeed, for the first time in several years the rugby club failed to retain the UH Cup, and there was generally limited success for our other sports teams in trying to demonstrate ICSM’s superiority over the rest of the London medical schools.

However, amidst the general mediocrity we have seen in both Varsity and UH this season, there have been notable successes for the Hockey and Netball clubs respectively, both of whom managed to retain their UH trophies won last year. The rugby club didn’t end up empty-handed either; a rather strong 3rd XV trouncing GKT 3’s to the tune of 83-0 to take the UH Fairweather trophy.

Men’s Hockey: ICSM 3-1 RUMS

After wins against Barts and St Georges in the preliminary stages, and a less convincing draw and loss against GKT and RUMS respectively, Imperial Medics progressed to the final of the UH Cup, looking to defend their trophy against RUMS.

Previous games between ICSM and RUMS this year have been close and hard fought - the teams sharing the spoils at 2 games

apiece. As per UH rules, Imperial were delighted to welcome back old hands Ed Bray and Tommy Moore to the fold for the final.

Imperial had the brighter start to the match, with Freddie Torlot putting a powerful drag flick past the flailing keeper from a short corner to give ICSM an early lead.After a RUMS equaliser, captain James Arthur regained the lead for ICSM, before the final goal of the game was scored by one of our forwards to the delight of the player in question , and some of the supporters, giving ICSM a 3-1win.

Rugby: ICSM 3’s 83 – 0 GKT 3’s Having failed to win the UH cup at 1st or 2nd team level this year, ICSM were determined not to let the same fate befall the 3rd team, welcoming back no fewer than 7 doctors to swell the 3rd team ranks.

From the kick off ICSM dominated the match. In the loose the back row tore the GKT defence to pieces and collectively scored 8 tries, with particular congratulations going to Mike Davies, personally responsible for 4 of the 8. In the backs, flair was the order of the day with beautifully executed

moves happening up and down the park. Mike Quinn put in a truly polished performance at flyhalf slotting several touchline conversions and finishing with 9 successful kicks from 13. All in all it was a fantastic day for ICSM Medics rugby.

Netball: ICSM 35-19 RUMS

Perhaps the most impressive win of the weekend belongs to the netball club; Due to a number of players being away on Easter holidays, ICSM ended up drawing heavily on 2nd and 3rd team players in their effort to win a 3rd successive UH Cup. This goal seemed all the more unlikely when club captain Ffion Harry was injured in the first game of the day against GKT, meaning ICSM had to call upon a member of the boat club to become an auxillary member of the attack. However, the girls managed to win convincingly, adding to their victory in varsity to cap off another excellent season.

Patrick McGown, James Arthur, Dan Hay and Beth Nally

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Oxford - London Row in Support of Macmillan

2 medical students. 3 days. 180km.Over the summer, Andrew Darby Smith and Jij Chow, both Imperial College Medical students will be rowing from Oxford to London in a double scull for Macmillan Cancer Support. With minimal previous experience of this type of rowing and after hearing some advice from those who have completed the task in bigger boats, both students have begun training in earnest.

This stretch of river has never before been conqoured by anything less than crews of 8 rowers and a cox, making the boys challenege all the more ambitious and physically tiring. As if that wasn’t enough, in the months running up to the event, they will first have to learn how to scull! It’s a shaky experience for those accustomed

to rowing in larger, more stable boats but something they are both solidly committed to mastering, all in aid of raising money for Macmillan Cancer Support.Why Macmillan Cancer Support? The Macmillan nurse is instrumental – I might go so far as to say essential – for ensuring all needs of patients suffering with cancer are met. They are perfectly set up to deal with whatever

cancer throws at life. But they need your help in valuable donations.

Please consider offeing your support on our justgiving page, and for more information see our event on Facebook.

www.justgiving.com/RowO2L www.facebook.com/RowO2L

Andrew Smith

24 Hour Opera - OliverOliver was chosen for this year’s 24 hour charity opera, and was performed in lively style to a packed house on Saturday 5th May. Whilst this performance could of course not hope to scale the heights hit by December’s production of The Producers it was warmly recieved, and a real achievement considering preparations started only 24 hours beforehand. Charlotte Boardman’s interpretation of Nancy was particularly well recieved by the partisan (and increasingly inebriated) crowd, as were Tom Badenoch and Henry

Vereall as Sikes and Fagin. To the delight of all involved follwing the performance Mr Teoh was once again quick to delcare this the “best ever” production. This year

money was raised for “Facing the World”, a reconstructive facial surgery charity based in Chelsea.

Oliver Gale-Grant

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Fashion Show 2012

This year’s IC RAG Fashion Show, Cabaret, at Clapham Grand, turned into a triumphant success as a string of sexy female and dashing male models paraded the catwalk in a variety of ensembles, from designers including Myla, Jaeger, Hawes and Curtis and Intimissimi, to name but a few. To add to the cabaret theme of the evening, the stage was overtaken by acts such as

Belly Dancing, AfroCarribean soc Hip Hop dancers, Apex Beats, our very own modern day barbershop quartet, and Matt Woods, an up and coming singer/songwriter. They certainly did not disappoint.The afterparty was yet another highlight of the night, with numerous DJs keeping the beats going well into the wee hours of the morning. With a packed dance floor and non-stop flow of students and doctors alike to the bar, there was no question as to whether they enjoyed the party. With jelly shot syringes available to top up levels of ‘hydration’ and a team from Lush providing free massages, every need was catered for. Excitement was brought to a new level when a ‘celebrity guest’ resulted in not one, but three of BBC Three’s Junior Doctors who arrived to enjoy the show and present the raffle. And what a raffle it was with many wonderful

prizes including a luxury hamper from Harrods, vouchers from a range of high street stores, bar tabs and an inordinate number of pink laptop cases to be won.Most importantly, the event was in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust, a charity ICSM have been supporting since October 2011, and with their support the models took their hand at becoming the designers. The T-shirts donated by the charity were customised by each of the models and made into a unique item to be worn for the finale of the show. All the profits from the show will be added to the total so far from the RAG events throughout the year and hopefully, we can present a very significant amount of money to a very worthy cause.

Charlotte Boardman and Tom Badenoch, Fashion Show Chairs

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The “Throwback”In the health and safety conscious, all are welcome, everyone have a nice PC time together, post Dave Smith era of freshers week scenes like this are almost unimagi-nable. Don’t you miss them just a little bit?

The “Goblin”Why would you go out when there’s still questing to be done on World of Warcraft? When there are still hos-tiles left on Counterstrike? Why?

The Top 10 FreshersThis is the last Gazette before the new freshers arrive. Get

ready with this handy guide. If there’s a photo of you here - think of it as a backhanded compliment.

The “Off the Leash”I’ve just realised - my mum can’t tell if I’m in bed by 9pm or not. PARTY TIME.

The “Still on Their Gap Year”It’s a well known fact that everyone will think you’re rugged, mysterious and a real man of the world, kind of like a younger, sex-ier James Bond if you turn up to every single event wearing a different Thai beer t-shirt.

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The “Man of Many Clubs”It’s always a good strategy to join ev-ery club in the world in order to make all the friends. The only risk is that you’ll subsequently be forced to make a premature exit from most of them

The “Wannabe IC”Comes to Reynolds once. Is globally furious with everything. Never seen again – apart from on Facebook inviting you to events at some far, far away place called “metric”.

The “I am Above This”Ugh! Drinking snakebite from PLAS-TIC CUPS. Sitting on a dirty floor! My Channel coat will never be the same again! Meeting commoners! Ugh!

The “Disappearing Act”Now you see them, now you don’t. Everywhere during Fresher’s Week, nowhere to be seen afterwards.

The “OMG-LOL” Whoa! I went to the REYNOLDS! How unique is THAT? I bet everybody here hasn’t had that EXACT SAME EXPERI-ENCE. Whoa! A pint of BEER! Novelty!

The “Doppleganger”A surefire way to integrate yourself in-stantly into the medical school scene is to look exactly like somebody in an older year.

by Oliver Gale-Grant, Shell Gatter, Paddy McGown and Tom Phillips

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RUGBYThis term has not been a great one for the rugby club. The combined factors of a long season and a plethora of injuries unfortunately led to some disappointing results.

Our performances very obviously reflected some very tired legs just running out of steam! We were unable to retain either the UH or Varsity trophies that have practically been ours since the clubs inception. It is obviously very disappointing given the club’s history.

Perhaps this is a reflection or where the medical school is going in general. - gone are the days of students keenly participating in extra curricular activites. Hopefully the FEO will see sense and realise that well rounded people make

well rounded doctors. Rant over. Undoubtedly the club will undergo some changes over the summer and we can build for a successful future, getting

our name back on those cups!

Joe Pick

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intake. As always, the club will be looking to recruit keen footballers of all abilities next season! This year we have again joined forces with the netball club to set up what we hope will be an annual alumni dinner. If any alumni were missed by mailing lists etc please do not hesitate to get in touch if they wish to attend next year.

FOOTBALL

harder” has definitely been engrained into the club this year. Following a packed-out Hugh Heffner Bop, we found ourselves with not only £1800, but also a hole in the wall and a meeting with the Dean. Circles have not only evolved in nature, but also in location, away from the traditional table, to the depths of the cupboard. Integration has never

HOCKEY

Another season has flown by for the football club, with the freshers just about having grasped fizz-buzz, but having fully understood the ‘competitive rivalry’ with the gracious lot at GKT. The pre-season tour of Tallinn, Estonia seems a distant, hazy memory; the same can be said for our mid-season football-netball tour to Bath; both tours adding to the great club spirit at ICSM FC! The season was hard fought with many final years missing for large periods and injuries at key times to key players costing teams valuable points. There was some great football played and a exceptional cup run for the 3rd team, sadly ending with a disappointing loss in the UH final. The final showcased the strength in depth within the club, all as a result of another strong fresher

The second half of our season has brought together not only incredible hockey on the pitch, but also, hefty monetary fines off it.

It gives me great pleasure in writing that our 1st XI have retained the United Hospitals Cup for yet another year, instilling the fact that we remain to be the best medical school hockey team in the country. Not only this, but our Italian-international led 3rd XI have dominated their ULU league, to the extent that they have been promoted for the next season. This year has seen the closest Varsity result for almost a decade, with ICSM losing to IC by only one goal in all three matches.

The ethos, “work hard, play

Our AGM will be held on the 12th of May (again, please do not hesitate to get in touch if you wish to attend) with the selection of the new committee who will no doubt carry on the great tradition of the club and guarantee another season of joga bonito!

Dafydd Llewelyn

been stronger with the Ladies’ club, after a fantastic mixed pub-golf jaunt along the river and an epic AGM to end the season.I would like to thank the current committee for all of their hard work throughout the last year, and wish their successors the best of luck for the new season.

Preth De Silva

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NETBALLNetball has had an extremely, stressful but enjoyable season.

This season has been another successful season in the BUCS leagues with the 1st team narrowly missing out on a promotion. The 4th team gained a well deserved promotion to 8A after winning 7 of their 8 games. All the other teams gave solid performances, comfortably maintaining their places in their leagues. On Monday nights ULU leagues the 1st team dominated the top Premier League with a massive +150 goal difference. The Netball club ended the season in style with 4 out of the 5 sides winning at varsity, making them the most successful Medics club on the day. I can safely say

this was one of the best days for the Netball club this year. Fortunately enough our lucky streak continued and we yet again were victorious at UH able to bring home the Cup for the 3rd year running. Finally at the time of writing, this weekend will be the first Netball-Football Alumni dinner. What a great way to end the Netball season, and prepare ourselves for sports dinner.

Ffion Harry

We celebrated the season at our AGM dinner with the boys, where we enjoyed a black-tie dinner and presented awards to those who have made outstanding contributions to the club this year. Our season will draw to a close at the eagerly anticipated NAMS tour to Manchester where we will take part in a mixed tournament and celebrate the end of the hockey season with teams from all over the country.

All in all this season has seen ICSM Ladies Hockey go from strength to strength. The spirit within the club

HOCKEY (GIRLS)The ICSM Ladies Hockey club has had a very successful end to the season. The first and second teams both finished near the top of their BUCS and ULU leagues, and an enthusiastic threes side won their first match in years! The 1st XI were sadly unable to play Varsity this year due to an IC BUCS cup fixtures clash, resulting in a walkover. The 2nd XI fought hard but unfortunately lost an incredibly close match 1-0. Integrating all the members of our club has continued in our Saturday development squad, finishing on a high drawing 2-2 with the league leaders in an exciting last match of the season.As usual the club filled its social calendar for the last term with many memorable events. Of particular note was the Mixed Pairs Pub Golf which I’m sure will become a permanent fixture.

has been fantastic and we hope that it will continue next year and beyond. Some highlights to look forward to next year include a European tour in the summer and even more integration with the Men’s Hockey club!

If you’d like to join us next year check out our website at http://union.ic.ac.uk/medic/ladieshockey or contact Jessica Mistry ([email protected]) for more information.

Charlotte Lees

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history. This summer, the boys look forward to the annual Bath 8s tournament at the beginning of September; unfortunately the girls will be unable to join them as the mixed tournament has been cancelled this year.

LACROSSEThe Lacrosse Club finished off their year in style at the End of Season Dinner held at 1st Floor Restaurant on Portobello Road. All teams have had successes this season, with the Mixed and Men’s teams coming 2nd and 3rd in their league respectively. The Ladies’ 2s have had a cracking first season in BUCS, holding their own against well established teams. However, the Ladies’ 1s are still waiting for the outcome of their BUCS season – a win against Southampton in a week’s time will ensure their promotion into the BUCS South Premier division!The end of the Spring term was a hectic one, with Varsity (very) narrowly won by the Medics in a nail-biting extra time finish, and AGM held as one of the most highly contested in the club’s

Huge congratulations to the new committee for the upcoming 2012-13 season and best of luck to the new President, Josh McGuire.

Rebecca [email protected]

pre and during the race but still put in a good performance. Finally, a somewhat revamped men’s senior VIII put in a formidable display to go up 70 places to an decade-best position of 140 (once again top of UH) in HoRR, the massive male equivalent, and the Novices did well starting in last year’s (absent) 2nd boat’s place surrounded by more experienced crews. Obviously these results were celebrated in style at UH Dinner

BOAT CLUB

Since the last update, we have started the gruelling longer races of Head Season. First up was the 4km UH Head, where the battle against other Medical Schools began. Our Novices rowed excellently, with both male and female crews winning and the second boats also beating several first boats. The Senior women put out a IV that came 2nd and an VIII that did well to come 3rd and a severely weakened Men’s VIII came 3rd despite missing half its top rowers to exams and illness. This was followed by WeHoRR, the biggest Head race for female crews in the world, where the Novice girls pushed hard and became top UH crew also beating Kings’ and UCL’s full crews too and the senior 1st boat improved to beat the other UH crews by 7 seconds. The 2nd boat faced severe adversities

and HoRR cocktails, but the biggest events and races are still to come- on the weekend starting 18th May is Bumps, ending with the incredible after-party at ULBC on the Sunday, then Summer Dinner (29th June) and the Alumni’s infamous Henley Party (the day after). Any aspiring rowers coming to ICSM next year, please find us at Fresher’s Fair. We will show you a great time.

Jac Cooper

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have our final few events going on before we all disappear for a short while. Saturday 12th May is our Society Concert where Choir, Orchestra, Chamber Choir and Jazz Band all come together to put on a united performance. “Here Comes The Sun” will be a concert to welcome in the summer, irrespective of the weather at the time! This will be held at St. Stephen’s Church, Gloucester Road and will start at 7.30pm. Another exciting occasion to mark in the diaries is the traditional Summer Concert on Tuesday 26th June. I welcome all to share in the distraction from the tension for many on the eve of Finals’ results, which will be held at the Wilson House Recreation Centre, Paddington. Alumni especially welcome!

MUSIC SOCMarch was a concert heavy month for MusicSoc members, with our two spring concerts for choir, chamber choir and orchestra; jazz band had four gigs in the space of two weeks, and on top of that all ensembles performed at the memorial concert for Prof. Richards. It was lovely to see so many of his colleagues, friends and former students at the event. For us current students it was a real eye-opener to how popular he was as Dean, and came away with a real sense of belonging to ICSM and its component medical schools from years gone by. I’d like to thank Averil Mansfield and the Development Trust of St. Mary’s Hospital for asking Music Society to remember Prof. Richards in this way. In the run up to exam season, we

If you would like more information about Music Society, our events or are interested in becoming a Friend of Music Society, please contact the Chairman Lydia Pearson at [email protected] or visit the Music Society website at www.imperialcollegeunion.o r g / m e d i c / m u s i c

Lydia Pearson

members of the society. After a fantastic year, we are all looking forward to what next year brings! For more information on how

DRAMA

This has been another great term for ICSM Drama! This year’s main play, ‘Some Like it Hot’, was a sell-out success. Putting this much loved film classic on stage was no mean feat, but was pulled off excellently by the directors. Stunning reviews (“all comments boil down to one simple thing: the play is incredibly entertaining… and ICSM Drama are on to a definite winner”) led to night after night of huge crowds all coming to see one thing – men in drag. At the end of this term, we are due to have our yearly Black tie formal dinner, which sees the presentation of the St Mary’s Association Scholarship to a member of the society. We have recently elected our new committee for next year, and look forward to a brand new set of plays. Next year’s productions will include Pride and Prejudice and a new play written and directed by

to get involved, please email [email protected]

Robyn Jacobs

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May 2012

This will be my last Newsletter. I am leaving St Mary’s and the NHS at the end of May and so feel it is appropriate to relinquish the Chairmanship of the Association at the same time. I leave it in the enthusiastic and very capable hands of Gareth Tudor-Williams who has been a great supporter of the Association and is well known to the students as a teacher and who has led the Drama Society very successfully for a number of years.

As I leave the NHS, I claim the right to a little modest reflection! Someone asked me what changes I had seen over the past nearly 30 years as a consultant and it does get one thinking. The answer is, of course – a lot – change at St Mary’s has been and still is, ever present. For example, when I started I worked in three hospitals: St Mary’s, St Mary’s, Harrow Rd and St Charles, which contracted down to just St Mary’s in 1991 (now we’re back to three hospitals again! Plus ça change!)

The question really asks what has changed for the worse. Doctors have become less pompous - that’s a good thing. The nurse-doctor relationship has changed. I’m not sure it is better but certainly there is more of a sense of all working together and that may be good. I am a little concerned that pomposity has been replaced by an un-caring arrogance which I blame on the working time directive,

St Mary’s Hospital Association Newsletter

the internal market, the plethora of managers and the removal of their waiting lists – the communal waiting list, from consultants. Consultants never ‘owned’ their waiting lists. It was theirs because patients wished to be on their list. Surely the most fundamental of patient choices is to choose the consultant they want? Most people don’t know they have this right and no one is going to tell them until they find out when it has all gone wrong which it is more likely to do if you come in for your operation, the surgeon has not seen you and just has a look at the notes to see what operation you’re having. It happens. Scary. Acceptance of these changes has led to a detachment and, apparent at least, lack of care or ability to be seen to care. My only exhortation to students is to learn to show you care. To care for patients as if they were your relative. An example is in Julian Barnes’ ‘Sense of an Ending’, the recent Booker prize winner. He dreads becoming a faceless patient in hospital and called by his first name. To assume patients want to be called by their first name shows a lack of care. It may not be what they wish. It doesn’t take much to ask them how they would like to be called and then they will feel you care.

A recent scholarship essay asked the question ‘How do you explain the rise in complimentary medicine?’ There were many good answers but not one student said

that it was because of the decline in caring by the medical staff. Complimentary practitioners care, they care for everything about their patients and all their concerns – otherwise they have no patients. We have too many patients and they keep coming however we treat them, this has made us arrogant. We need to remember this and not forget to simply care and make sure, whatever else we do, that patients at least feel better after they have seen us.

Well the students haven’t changed! Their enthusiasm, freshness and exuberance is the same as ever and I am sure will continue. It has been a privilege to be involved with teaching them, their activities and with the Association. The most encouraging thing is that, while we have anguished long and hard about the future of the St Mary’s Hospital Association in the context of Imperial College and Imperial NHS Trust, the Association has thrived and I am happy that the future is assured with Gareth in charge. The finances are robust, the scholarships, electives, the student President, the Gazette and all the activities we support will continue and I know how much the students appreciate all this. We would only like to do more, especially now that the cost of studying at Imperial has become so terribly expensive.

We have always been concerned about student hardship and were reminded at the AGM by Alasdair

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Fraser that the Association was originally founded to support cases of hardship and this is still a priority in awarding support for electives. Institutions such as the Association really can make a contribution in this way but to do more we need to increase our membership and I really do implore anyone reading this to look at the Banker’s form and the legacy form printed here and to fill them out and return them to Kevin Brown. £20 a year is not huge and if you have been a holder of the Cockburn, Pinker or Edwards Scholarship or if you have had an elective award or been on a tour which has been supported by the Association your joining the Association will be more and continued support for students.

I have enjoyed the Association a lot and will still be involved. I would like to express my thanks to Averil Mansfield, who preceded me as chairman and to Alasdair Fraser who have done so much for the Association and who have been such a source of advice and support. To Patricia Dymond who was ‘The Association’ and to Kevin Brown who has taken on the nuts and bolts of running everything, supported by Cynthia Horan who also represents the Nurses League which joined the Association recently. And then to all the members and others on the committee and those who attend the meetings. Finally, thank you to the students who make it all worthwhile.

David Hunt

A St Mary’s doctor achieved a rare landmark last Easter when he reached his 100th birthday . Dr A W Frankland was educated at Oxford and St Mary’s graduating in 1936. After the war he became a consultant physician at St Mary’s in charge of the Department for Allergic disorders and the first of many landmarks in a distinguished career was the establishment of a daily pollen count from the roof of the hospital which was announced daily on the radioduring the hay fever season and continues to the present time. A small gathering of former colleagues and students held a luncheon party at The Royal Society of Medicine for Dr Frankland to celebrate this event. Those present were Mr Ken Owen , Mr J P Williams, Dr Oscar Craig ,

Sir Stanley Simmons , Mr Alasdair Fraser , Dr Ronnie Williams, Dr James Bevan, Mr Gerald Walsh Waring , Dr Jonathan Brostoff, Dr John Evans . Mr Kevin Brown and Dr David Mitchell. Dr Frankland apologised for being five minutes late but his last patient that morning had held him up !

Alasdair Fraser

A Birthday

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St Mary’s Hospital Association

REMINDER:Would anyone still paying their subscriptions to St. Mary’s Hospital Medical School or Imperial College, please cancel that standing order and complete the form below. If you know of anyone who would like to join, please let them see this form.- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Please return to: Mr Kevin Brown, Archivist, Mint Wing, St. Mary’s Hospital, Praed St., London W2 1NYemail: [email protected]

To the Manager

Bank________________________Bank Address___________________________________________

____________________________A/C No._______________________Sort Code_________________

Please pay the NATIONAL WESTMINSTER BANK plc. Marble Arch, Connaught Street Branch, London W2 2HX (60.16.10) for the credit of ST. MARY’S HOSPITAL ASOCIATION (21857873) the sum of twenty pounds (£20.00) every 1st October, commencing October 2009, until further notice.

Title________Full Name______________________________________ Years at St. Mary’s_______

Address___________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________Post Code_________E-mail_____________________

Signed____________________________________________________ Date______________________

Chairman: Mr David Hunt FRCSVice Chairman: Professor Averil Mansfield CBE ChM FRCSSecretary: Mr Kevin Brown MATreasurer & Grants Secretary: Dr Michael Clarke FRCP

Please return toMr Kevin BrownArchivistSalton HouseSt Mary’s HospitalPraed StLondon W2 1NY email: [email protected]

St Mary’s Association Registered Charity No: 1066742

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If you would like to include a legacy to The St Mary’s Hospital Association in your Will, we would be very grateful if you would complete and return this form. The information will be treated in the strictest confidence. This is simply a statement of your present intentions

Strictly Confidential I intend to include a legacy to The St Mary’s Hospital Association

Name_______________________________________________

Address______________________________________________

Post Code____________________________________________

Telephone____________________________________________

Email________________________________________________

Signature__________________________ Date_______________

Name and address of Executor______________________________

Please send/email to: Kevin Brown, Archivist, St Mary’s Hospital, Praed St, London W2 [email protected]

Legacy Intention Form

CONFIDENTIAL

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Peter Richards Memorial On 20 March 2012 a celebration in words and music took place in St John’s Church, Hyde Park Crescent. It was in honour of our former Dean Professor Peter Richards whose obituary appeared in a previous edition of this Gazette.

Peter Richards made great contributions to St Marys and to Imperial College and an important aspect was to the musical life of the Medical School. He supported and encouraged this and left behind a strong musical legacy and today’s students continue this with great enthusiasm.

The church was full of former colleagues and trainees and students. It was a particular delight that the music society of today was willing to provide the music even though none of them had been students during Peter’s time as Dean. It was also wonderful to have former contributors to the musical scene taking part in the concert. The Television series “Doctors to Be” featured prominently and some of the students who were followed [now established graduates] came along and one of the speakers was the producer Susan Spindler.

There were two other speakers -

Alastair Fraser deputised at the last minute for Oscar Craig who was unwell [now recovered] and Simon Stockill was the final speaker.All three speakers gave a wonderful word picture of this remarkable man and enlightened both Peters family and friends and the students of today.

Music had been an important and beautiful feature of the Cambridge Memorial held on 28 Jan in The University Church and afterwards at Hughes Hall. This, however, was St Mary’s own event in every sense and centred around our students which I think would have pleased Peter whose professional life centred on student welfare.The St Mary’s Development

Trust was responsible for providing this event and we in turn were very well supported by the musicians of the ICSM Music Society, by The St Mary’s Association, The Archivists, Hazel Lofthouse and the photographs were taken by Andy Pritchard.

I particularly want to thank Lydia Pearson who is the Chairman of The Music Society who was a delight to work with and provided a superb programme of orchestra, choir, chamber choir and jazz group.Finally thanks to the Church for welcoming us into their newly renovated premises.

Averil Mansfield

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Obituary - Terry Barwell

After school at Prior Park in Bath, Terry Barwell went up to Mary’s shortly before his 17th birthday in January 1933. He believed that his being admitted in the first place was partly because the medical school secretary, B E Matthews, was on the panel and the Dean, Dr Charles Wilson was not. Matthews knew Gillan Creek in Cornwall, where Terry’s family had lived for six years.

Terry’s life at Mary’s was full of hard work, hard play and typical medical student ‘pranks’. Of the latter, the theft of a Belisha beacon during their first pea soup fog was the first. He was also guilty of letting free some pigeons during a physiology lecture given by Professor Huggett who let him know some years later that he knew who had done it.

After a year, he joined the Boat Club which had recently been resurected. The Captain at that time was Ted Hatfield who had rowed at Caius. They rowed on the canal above Bishops Bridge Road where they had a boat

house and on one occasion, small boys threw stones at them. After going past, they stopped and armed themselves with their own stones in order to be able to respond in kind. The following year, they were joined by Charles Sergel who was a Cambridge blue and who had rowed in the British Olympic VIII in 1932. The club improved dramatically with his coaching. Terry said that with Sergel coaching, ‘Once one stepped into a boat everything, even the simplest thing, had to be done to perfection.’

In 1938, Terry and A.R.H.M. (Sandy) Mills won the coxless pairs races at the United Hospitals and London University regattas. The United Hospital regatta was Terry’s most memorable in that the St Thomas’s boat had a Cambridge blue and one of the London crew was an ex Olympic oarsman. However, the Thomas’s boat left their station and the oars clashed. Terry disengaged his oar and managed to get it in front of the bow of the Thomas’s boat with the obvious result that the

Mary’s boat got well away. They also managed to row down the London Hospital crew and won.

That year they went to Essen for a regatta with a scratch crew in an Vlll. They did not do well but Terry came home with a Nazi sports flag. Later the same year he rowed in the London University Vlll, winning his purple and was elected vice president of the London University Athletic Union.

Terry often told the story about an anaesthetist at Mary’s called ‘George ol’ Boy’ Matthews. He always used the ‘good old rag and bottle technique’ where induction was with chloroform and ether followed by ether on an open mask. Terry learnt to use this technique and he was later to find it very useful in general practice as that was the equipment provided. There were a number of close shaves when he anaesthetised patients and he was relieved when he was no longer required to do so.

Terry was approaching the end of his training in 1939 but before he had qualified, many staff from Mary’s and other London hospitals were evacuated to Park Prewett Hospital in Basingstoke. He was one of about 20 medical students to be moved and he was made an unqualified house physician, working for Dr L.P.E. Laurent but qualified soon after that. He was then paid £300 p/a. Five months later he became the house surgeon to Professor Pannett. Terry remembered one of his first cases was a girl who had damaged both legs in an accident. Both needed amputation but Pannett refused to amputate

Rowing - The VIII is as follows. Davey, Driver, Green, Hain, Fidler, Hat-field, Mills and TEB. The cox is Fuller.

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both. She developed gangrene and died. Terry remembered having to see the girl’s parents himself. Another case was Sir Almroth Wright who had chronic cholecystitis. He almost died during the cholecystectomy but went against the advice of Pannett and got up the next day. This probably helped his eventual recovery! Terry got a great deal of surgical experience himself, doing about 40 hernia repairs and half a dozen haemorrhoidectomies and appendicectomies. Pannett trained him to be prepared for work during hostilities.

At about this time he met Pat Carr, a nurse who was in a group from St Thomas’s who had also been moved to Park Prewett. They married in August 1940 soon after he had volunteered for the Navy. During the war he had two appointments to ships, both in the Far East. His first

was in HMS Express, a destroyer that was present at the sinking of the Prince of Wales and Repulse

After being demobbed he spent time in London, before he was offered a partnership in a general practice in St Ives, in Cornwall. He had had little obstetric experience and had never applied obstetric forceps but was very soon asked by a midwife to do just that. He knew, theoretically, what to do and after giving the patient the anaesthetic and asking the nurse to continue to administer the ether, he delivered the baby. He was gratified to hear the nurse say, ‘Thank goodness there’s a doctor who knows how to use forceps’! Over the years he enjoyed watching some of the rugby matches at Easter between St Ives and the touring Mary’s side.

His interests after the war remained with the sea and he owned many sailing boats over the years until

he could no longer count on having a crew from the family or their friends. There were many trips across the channel as well as those up and down the South Coast. Another interest was the St John Ambulance and was awarded the honour of being made a ‘Serving Brother’, a title he was proud of. He retired in January 1977 and he and Pat moved to their retirement home near Falmouth from where he was more able to enjoy sailing. When he gave it up he found other interests such as learning to weave. He enjoyed photography and also spent long hours gardening. Pat died in 2010 and he died in April 2012 after a short illness. He is survived by his children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.

Peter Barwell

Professor Richard Beard - an Afterword

Richard William Beard who died aged 80 on 13th January, 2012,was Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at St. Mary’s Hospital, Paddington from 1972 to 1996. He was one of the pioneers in the development of fetal monitoring during labour and in his MD thesis, based on the introduction of fetal blood sampling, he

demonstrated that the acid base balance of a fetus in labour was a predictor of perinatal outcome. Acid base evaluation continues to be used as an indicator of fetal wellbeing in labour to this day.

At Kings College Hospital under the mentorship of Sir Stanley Clayton, his work on the physiology and management of diabetic pregnancies gained him international recognition. His demonstration that poor control of maternal blood glucose levels during labour lead to fetal distress resulted in the introduction of the use of intravenously administered insulin infusions for diabetic women in labour, which is now universally practised.

His contributions to the O & G department at St Mary’s, to student education there and to the national and international world of O & G have been well described by his successor, Professor Lesley Regan, in her appreciation (St Mary’s Gazette 103/1 (1997), 15-16). Following his retirement from St Mary’s, he moved to Northwick Park and St. Mark’s Hospital where he continued his clinical and research involvement into the problem of chronic pelvic pain.

In retirement, Beard became advisor to Michael Pulitzer, of the Pulitzer Foundation for a project on the children of famine in Ethiopia, called Play Therapy (PT). This study showed that in

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children with severe malnutrition who become sleepy, refuse to be fed and are rejected by their mothers, PT teaches the mothers to re-engage and play with their child. There are signs that this emotional stimulation leads to the child starting to eat and recover. Beard set up a randomised control trial which, if successful, will allow this intervention to become part of the governmental health policy of Ethiopia.

Richard supported his wife Irene in her involvement with education in Ethiopia, setting up the charity Book Link to provide educational books, sourced from publishers in Britain.

When his wife was diagnosed with motor neurone disease, he was instrumental in setting up the Sheffield Institute Foundation for Motor Neurone Disease, which raised enough money to build on the campus of the

Sheffield University, the first institute for MND in Europe called SITraN – (Sheffield Institute for Translational Neuroscience).

Beard’s private life meant much to him. He rejoiced in the company of his family, undertaking wide-ranging travels. He was a keen off-shore sailor in West Cork where they had their holiday home, and was a competitive tennis player, playing regularly until October 2011. He much enjoyed attending musical recitals and concerts.

At the Service of Thanksgiving held at St James Norland on 21 February. The Allegri quartet were joined by Helena Newman, viola, and played from the Mozart string quintet in G minor K 516. The soprano Patricia Rozario sang Dido’s lament by Henry Purcell “When I am laid in earth” .

Addresses were given by Prunella

Scales, Maureen Lipman and his son Thomas Beard. Lord Gowrie PC delivered the eulogy and Cyrus Vance jr. read from the Corinthians. Sophie Camu his stepdaughter, his grandchildren Jamie Beard, and Rebecca Beard, provided further contributions. The service was conducted by the Reverend Dr Alan Everett.

Rodney Rivers

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Dear ICSM Alumni,

Welcome to the latest issue of the Gazette. We hope that you are enjoying seeing in the summer, where ever you may be.

We have had a great few months here at ICSM. Shrove Tuesday Final Year Dinner was a great success at Vinopolis in London Bridge. We had some of our Alumni come back for pre-drinks and the after-party and a fantastic evening was has by all. The recent Final year Photo Day was, despite the rain, an enjoyable day in which over half of the final years signed up to the Alumni Association.

We are very happy to say that they year we will be giving out two sets of £400 grants to clubs and societies. We have recently received the applications and will be announcing the recipients shortly. Along side this we are once again awarding an ICSM Alumni prize to an individual who has broadened the awareness of ICSM outside of the ICSM community, this will be awarded along side ICSM Colours at the annual Summer Ball. We are also currently planning an event where members in Foundation training outside of London will be invited to speak to current fifth years about choosing Foundation Schools before they come to filling out their application forms this coming October. The previous three years that this event has run it has been very successful and we are looking forward to another one.

This year’s Summer Ball will be held on Wednesday 27th June 2012. It would be great to see you as many of you there as possible to support our newly graduated Doctors. The venue promises to be spectacular with details to follow very shortly, make sure you save the date in your diaries. It looks to be an impressive night with Colours and the Alumni award being given out it, and a good opportunity to celebrate. For more information and tickets email [email protected]

As ever, we’d love to hear what you are up to - are you getting married? Expecting? Got a new post? Had a year abroad? In addition, if you have any suggestions for the articles you would like to see in the Gazette, or you would like to write an article, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me at [email protected] or the editors themselves at [email protected], as we are always looking for ways to improve your Gazette.

Kind Regards

Laura

Laura WilkinsonICSM Alumni Association Chair 2011/12

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Having pinned too much hope on one of the more popular Pacific Islands I was left with a mad scramble to find an elective placement. I was so desperate that one evening I zoomed in on the South Pacific via Google maps, searched <island name> <hospital> <email> and sent 25 emails. Within 24 hours I had been sent 4 application forms for elective placements, but after a further 24 hours I had a cheery email from the Clinical Director of the Niue

Foou Hospital saying “sounds wonderful, let us know when you would like to arrive”. With a sense of adventure, and a desperate need to have something sorted for Wendy Pearsson quickly (time was definitely marching on), I said yes.

An Elective in NiueNiue (“New-ay”) is a 269 km2 raised coral atoll in the southern Pacific Ocean, in the centre of a triangle cornered by Samoa, Tonga and the Cook Islands. It is self governed, but in free association with New Zealand. The population is approximately 1500 (although 20,000 Niueans live in NZ). It was first ‘discovered’ by Captain Cook in 1774, although he was never able to set foot on the island and named it “Savage Island” on account of being chased away by natives. It is also known as the

‘Rock of Polynesia’, due to the dramatic cliff face coast, rather than long white beaches (there were still plenty of coconuts though).My trip to Niue began late November in Auckland where I took the one flight per week which crosses the open ocean. The flight

itself was a bit like a huge family reunion, being 90% returning Niueans. “Plane day” was clearly a huge event with what seemed like the whole island turning out to greet us! I was met by the hospital manager Bob who whisked me off to meet the entire hospital staff at the annual Christmas Party (a round of golf followed by a BBQ). Health care on the island is provided free of charge. There are 3 doctors, 2 dentists, 8 nurses, a physiotherapist, a paramedic and an extensive public health team. The hospital is less than 5 years old, the previous one having being completely destroyed by the 2004 cyclone Heta. It consists of 10 inpatient beds (one high dependency and 2 paediatric), a birthing suite, an operating theatre, XRay and ultrasound room, laboratory, pharmacy, physiotherapy room, dental surgery and 3 consulting rooms. Uniquely, day to day, the hospital is powered by solar power.Each day started with a ward round, followed by clinic for the rest of the morning. The doctors had all trained abroad as specialists (there was a general

“Uniquely, day to day, the hospital is powered by solar power”

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surgeon, anaesthetist and a ‘girly doctor’ (Obs&Gynae), but each spent most of their time on the island as general practitioners. This range of specialities meant that most emergencies could be dealt with on the island but an arrangement was in place with NZ that meant that patients requiring more specialist opinions or services could be referred to Auckland.By the end of my first week I was holding my own clinic. There were many patients with very familiar chronic medical conditions; diabetes, hypertension, epilepsy as well as regular coughs, colds and sprained ankles. In contrast to my UK placements, there were very few patients with chronic pain or mental health issues. During my time on the island there were no deaths, 3 births, and few emergencies - a torn thumb nail

due to catching falling papaya was my favourite.I had a lot of fun with the public health team who, on behalf of the World Health Organisation, were conducting a survey of Non Communicable Diseases. This involved travelling to each of the villages in turn early in the morning, where members of the community over 18 would attend to be asked a questionnaire about risk factors and have measurements taken (BP, BMI, BM and cholesterol). Helping out with the measurements of BP and BMI I could see how important the survey was; over ¾ were at least overweight (and mostly obese). Being large is a cultural sign of wealth - one man with a BMI of 34 retorted with disgust that losing 60kg in order to be a healthier weight would make him look like me! My hard earned BMI of 21 was very amused!Niue currently has the 4th highest TB rate per capita in the world. Which is a bit of a joke since that figure comes following a single diagnosis of TB last year (the first in over 10 years - a recent immigrant to the island from a place of genuinely high incidence). But nonetheless it was a topic covered well in the Continuing Medical Education meetings held fortnightly. Having just completed a respiratory firm in London I was

comfortable contributing!One of the best things about going somewhere so small and sleepy meant that I got to know many people very well and there was very little I hadn’t had a go at during my stay. I was able to have the whole hospital experience and truly be part of the team; I spent a few days in the laboratory assisting with diagnostics (I have a new appreciation for U&E and HbA1C tests), helped the physiotherapist with an audit about orthopaedic referrals, assisted in theatre and had great fun with the nurses selecting brightly coloured bed sheets. I even sat in the office filing (aka gossiping with the girls!).At the weekends and evenings I was both a native and a tourist. I was adopted by one family who welcomed me completely. The younger children showed me how to make the flower ‘Leis’ for welcoming people at the airport, whilst the grown up children took me dancing at the rugby club, and swimming in the rock pools. Not to be outdone the adults taught me about their culture, took me fishing and fed me the most amazing food (I have got seriously expensive taste in fresh fish now!) As a tourist I swam with dolphins, went on long adventures around the coast, and was awed by the enormity of the ocean whilst whiling away afternoons at the island’s only resort.

With great thanks to the Enid Linder Foundation and Geoffrey Pegrum trust who granted me money to fund my elective. Their gift meant that I could afford to take the risk and have such an adventure without crippling myself with further debt. I am truly grateful.

Mary Harrington

Page 34: ICSM Gazette Summer 2012

FRESHER SPOTTING GUIDE 2012Medicus Normalis

Where to find them: By day male Common Freshers are usually found asleep, and the females of the species can be found in the li-brary. In recent times more and more males of the species can also be found in the library. This trend has worried conservationists. Distinctive features: The male can be distinguished by an abundance of chinos and rugby jerseys. Fiercely tribal, the female of this species will often wear the colours of their group affiliation. This explains the incongruous sight that has baffled zoologists for so long of so many of this species wearing red dresses in Wednesday morning lectures.Behaviour: Courtship rituals continue to baffle scien-tific observers, but the scent of stale Snakebite ap-pears to be a considerable aphrodisiac to this species.Diet: This species is known to be migratory. Many individuals will have migrated from dwellings with high availability of food, and close family support, and the experience of living alone in the wild can be un-settling. This stress often manifests in a diet chiefly comprised of pot noodle, toast, bacon and alcohol.

Medicus AlienusWhere to find them: The overseas fresh-er has thrived in the recent years. - rarely seen alone this fresher seeks safety in num-bers - they flock to quiet spots like the li-brary where they are found in abundanceDistinctive features: These freshers are silent creatures. We are led to be-lieve communication is predominant-ly conducted through electronic means. Behaviour: Nobody has seen one of these species in the wild in the evening, scien-tists postulate they are most probably hard at work under mountains of books.Diet: A traditional coming of age ceremony on

leaving the maternal home is be-ing endowed with a ceremonial rice cooker that remains an inte-gral part of the feeding routine.

Medicus AncianusWhere to find them: Far rarer than the common fresher, managing to spot a Graduate will earn you respect at the bridge table for years to come. Wisened by their years away from home scrounging a life from their meager student loans, they are often found lurk-ing in the darker corners of London ale houses. Fearful of snake-bite and sambuka, you are more likely to spot one dithering over draught ales and complaining about how much more expensive a good bitter is these days than smashing shots in the Union. Distinctive Features: With a more subdued plumage, male graduates can be distinguished by their long, curiously at-tractive beards and troubled brows. Unusually in the animal kingdom, it is the Graduate female that boasts the most col-orful plumage, which is often further enhanced by the sur-rounding browns, dark greens and tweed of graduate males. Behaviour: Many Graduates will select their mates dur-ing their prior migrations. Some individuals have been ob-served to seek out new partners once settled in their new home, but breeding with the Common Fresher is, to date, completely unheard of by the scientific community. Diet: Despite the looming debts this species tends to nurture, their palate is refined. No longer do they sup on the highly processed carbs of their youth, turn-ing instead to gastro-pubs and wine bars for sustenance.

Medicus OxbridganusWhere to find them: Al-though naturally drawn to grassy habitats, the Ox-bridge Fresher undergoes three years of sustained con-ditioning and arrives with a pathological fear of tread-ing on lawns. Therefore usually confined to paved and cobbled areas, they overcome their fear only to enjoy a game of croquet.

Distincive features: Rarer than the Medicus An-cianus, the Medicus Oxbridganus is almost impos-sible to differentiate from the Common Fresher. The disguise is penetrated only in the evening, when the Medicus Oxbriganus turns to black tie.Behaviour: Although anxious to blend in, the Medicus Oxbridganus may be-tray their identity by assuming academic dress upon the command ‘get gowned up’.Unlike the Medicus Ancianus, few from the Ox-bridganus species arrive withestablished breed-ing partners. Those that do are likely to have ac-quired them cheaply, perhaps for a few pennies.Diet: The Medicus Oxbridganus finds eating challenging unless Latin has been spoken. Once this has been satisfied the species consumes at least three courses, served on the best silver, and finishes meals with port passed the correct way.

Freshers spotted by Will Bermingham, Helena Lee, Giada Azzopardi, Henrietta Mair and Oliver Gale-Grant

Page 35: ICSM Gazette Summer 2012

alumni

ICSM Gazette 35

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