It’s been a busy start to the New Year here at GH Medical. I took part in the Virtual Reality in Medicine and Surgery course sponsored by Stryker. The programme on day 3 focused on neurosurgery and ear, nose and throat conditions. I gave a 30 minute talk on the principles of neck dissection, its indications and complications before a live demonstration from Brighton & Sussex University. The talk was delivered live in the United Kingdom and available online for Australia, Ghana, India, UAE and the Caribbean, with over a hundred delegates. The course has received excellent feedback and further courses are planned for May and June this year and in January 2022. I’m looking forward to being involved in the programme.
The planning for vaccination roll-out across East Kent is well underway with hub sites planned in Canterbury at the cricket ground and in Ashford at the William Harvey Hospital. The sites plan to administer around 10,000 vaccines a week across the Trust, initially starting with NHS staff. The roll-out starts on the 18th of January and is aiming for 3,000 doses a week at the William Harvey Hospital and 7,000 a week in Canterbury. The hubs will work 7 days a week from 8am to 7pm. I completed all my online mandatory training for the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine, followed by a face-to-face session to complete the training. I am now approved to vaccinate and will help with the roll out of this vaccine on top of my usual clinical duties and in my spare time.
I received my second dose of the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine on Friday, from my friend Ram, who is normally the ENT Theatre Manager. He has been redeployed from his usual duties in theatre and is spending his time vaccinating. This means I am now fully vaccinated and have had no side effects from the vaccine. I hope this re-assures all my patients.
