CMA UK Midlands/ Worcs 2011

Catholic Medical Association Meeting Thurs 20 Oct ‘11

‘Induced Abortion: Its effect on Mental Health’

Speakers: Drs Pravin Thevasathan (CMA Worcs Branch Secretary, Cons Psychiatrist LD) & Greg Gardner (Birmingham GP and protestant ethicist for Midlands Ethics Group)

Chair: Dr Tony Cole
Venue: Newman House Catholic Chaplaincy, 29 Harrisons Rd, Edgbaston, Birmingham

19:30: Mass
20:10: Meeting Followed By Discussion & Light Buffet

To assist with catering, would those wishing to attend please notify (email) John Kelly (kellyj1931@googlemail.com) by 12 Oct.

There is no charge for Buffet

NHS cuts

Cross posted from Catholic Physicians Blog
"They're starting to get results, [health] Minister!"
"Time to restructure!"

The photo above is from a mug of tea I was drinking at work today. It made me laugh, but also got me thinking about the worrying prospect of NHS cuts in light of the public deficit following the global recession. Quite how our new coalition goverment will handle this I don't know, but my worry is it will impact adversely on Mental Health Services.

Why? Because in this day of public pressure groups and political maneuverings, it is the group of patients with mental health problems who lack a strong and unified voice. It probably stems from stigma, a case which is made worse by the aggressive shift towards community care during '80s conservative days, meaning society has been suddenly and unpreparedly exposed to a fear which they have no idea how to handle or integrate into society. It is a prime target for cuts.

There are very few advocates, people fighting for this vulnerable sector. But politically and socially, think of the huge burden of psychiatric illness: which 1 in 4 people will suffer from sometime in their life. Loss in earnings and taxes. Loss in confidence and stable homes. Worse and untreated physical health. Reduced life expectancy and huge socioeconomic inequalities widening. To not make this a priority, both within specialist services and in primary care when the bulk of illness is treated, would therefore be a huge mistake!

I pray the new goverment can make the correct decisions to cut excess and waste, and prune the health service to make it more efficient, effective, satisfying and above all accessible.

Doctor Poem

Check it out: catholicdoctors.blogspot.com

-- Posted From Wend's iPod Touch WiFi (4.5Mb/s)
Virgin Media Broadband

Abortion Numbers Falling

Deo gratias. I heard on the radio this morning, but cannot find a web-link anywhere, that abortion rates in Birmingham have fallen this year. A spokeswoman from the Marie Stopes lot said this is indicative of improved reproductive education, in "quality and not just quantity". I couldn't agree more, and it is good that some of these people are acknowledging abortion as an undesirable outcome. She added that, apparently, young people have been playing "Russian roulette" by having unprotected sex (I assume she's talking about getting pregnant as somehow comparable to a bullet through the head).

Birmingham is fairly unique in that, when the Abortion Act of 1967 was passed, pressure from leading gynaecologists (including one who stated on television "Whatever the law says we will not murder little children in Birmingham") meant that, to this day, NHS establishments do NOT provide abortion in Birmingham. It has thus been the abortion factory of Calthorpe Clinic in Edgbaston (just near the Birmingham Oratory) which the NHS pays to provide women with their "reproductive rights". It seems obvious to me that this is an almost worse situation, since the advocates of abortion will have the monopoly in this clinic, and clearly offer very biased information to women in distress. For instance, I have come across many naive young girls who think that abortion is completely safe, and sadly come across fertility and gynaecological complications later on down the line. I'm sure the Calthorpe Clinic makes most of its money (up to £960) from private patients, and thus pitches itself particularly for overseas women who can fly in, have their baby killed, and then fly out again (sometimes all on the same day:

If you live abroad, it is possible to have an assessment and treatment on the same day. You will need to be at the Clinic by 0830 (8.30am). Some procedures (such as the early medical) currently require that you attend the Clinic again (between 6 hours - 3 days, whichever is most convenient) after taking the first tablet so you will have to stay in Birmingham overnight. We strongly recommend that women stay overnight after the second treatment before travelling home. If you are travelling back on the same day after treatment, we recommend that your return travel times are after 2000 (8pm) and that you have someone with you when you travel.

The Helpers of God's Precious Infants meet outside the Calthorpe Clinic every Saturday morning. Why? Monsignor Philip Reilly (founder of the international Pro-life organisation) put it thus:

…You are going there for the purpose of salvation. You are going there for the love of the mother. You are going there for the conversion of the mother. You are there for her salvation. For the conversion of the abortionist. You are going there with the mindset of John and Mary at the foot of the Cross. To be pro-life is to be with the mindset of Christ. It is to be a victim with Christ at Calvary.

With regards the Russian roulette of coming into this world, I hope the odds have started to get better for unborn babies in Birmingham.

Hard Work

I am on a brief respite during a gruelling fortnight of 'on-call' medical duties. I find 12 hour shifts very difficult, and especially when one is feeling ill (I have succumbed to several colds and viruses this winter). It is our Christian duty to carry on in the midst of trials:

For unto this are you called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving you an example that you should follow his steps. Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth. Who, when he was reviled, did not revile: when he suffered, he threatened not: but delivered himself to him that judged him unjustly.

(1 Peter 2:21-23)

And so I am reminded not to behave downtrodden. After all, junior doctors have it much easier these days.

But it is often when we carry heavy burdens that we resort for the course of least resistance and let our feelings cloud our actions. For instance, when I hear the remark "You're too young to be a Doctor" from the umpteenth person, be it patient or nurse, it is easy to remark "well obviously that's not true!" in a rude and brash fashion. I am also reminded that it is the height of flattery to be called 'young'. Sadly I too often assume a lack of confidence in my medical ability, which I'm sure is not the case.

The truth is, I have never really had to 'take up my cross' in a meaningful or comparable way. Pope Benedict reminded us last August that "In today’s world, where powers that divide and destroy appear to dominate, Christ does not stop making us a clear invitation: who wants to be my disciple, let him forswear his own egoism and carry with me the cross." It is by uniting our own suffering to Christ that we "fill up those things that are lacking in Christ's sufferings" in our flesh, for Christ's body, the Church (Colossians 1:24). St Paul taught eloquently about our own interdependence in the Body of Christ, a mystical concept which points to the great reality of Christian life: That we never suffer in vain.

Perhaps the Holy Father is deeply hurt by the criticism levelled at him all week. It seems that from the very beginning of his Pontificate there has been a desperate attempt from all quarters to undermine his influence, tarry his reputation, and spread untruths about him. But ultimately his divine mission of promoting Christian Unity, of healing Christ's body which has been torn, must suffer these criticisms. (That is not to say that the fiasco with SSPX was unavoidable - surely Vatican PR must take some of the blame)

All this serves to draw into focus where our role and responsibility lies. Internal unity must always come first for the Pope, perhaps at the expense of pandering to so many other political pressures. For myself, my responsibilities lie with my family and with my patients. Which means I MUST work 12-hour shifts even when it hurts my head!

Ethics Essay

When I was in my first year at medical school, being drip-fed Beauchamp and Childress' principles of biomedical ethics, I confess to have missed the excitement in healthcare ethics. In recent years I have come to hold it in high esteem, and benefited immensely from the recent Linacre Conference.

This is all just as well, since it is a core competence of Foundation Trainees (junior doctors) to consider these issues. I was determined to show a degree of aptitude, and so I wrote an essay for a competition run by the Institute of Medical Ethics. The title was based on the well known maxim Primum non nocere (First do no harm) and went on to recommend Virtue Ethics in the practice of medicine.

Alas, I did not win a prize. But at least I can be proud of my work, and will now welcome any comments. I have published it over at the Catholic Physicians Blog (click on the title of this post for a direct link to my essay).

Catholic Physicians

I am happy to now be a member of the "Catholic Physicians Blog"! Along with Catholic Dads, it seems that now every facet of my life is covered by a blog. How about "Catholic Star-Wars Fans"? Perhaps it will fall on me to start that one up...

My first post on Catholic Physicians Blog is about Psychiatry, a profession which I may very well specialise in. It is a sensitive topic, and I hope I have handled it well and with compassion. Please head on over there and let me know what you think.

I have previously written on being a Catholic Physician here and here... amongst others...

Linacre Ethics Forum

Bioethics from a Catholic perspective

A chance for junior healthcare professionals and students
(medics, nurses, pharmacists etc. are welcome!)
to explore and discuss Catholic healthcare ethics.
The aim will be to understand the Church’s teaching
and explore ways in which we can present it sympathetically
to patients, colleagues and managers.

27th Feb Christian Ethics in Neonatal Care
- Professor John Wyatt

3rd April Fertility Treatments
- Mrs Nicole Parker

30th April Ethical Issues in General Practice
- Dr Mike Delany

13th May Pregnancy Counselling
- Sr Roseann Reddy (TBC)

Time: (5.30pm Mass in Westminster Cathedral)
6.30pm Tea/Coffee
7pm Talk
7.30pm Discussion
8.30pm Finish (retire to pub/cafe)

Location: Vaughan House, SW1P 1QN
(behind Westminster Cathedral)

For further information, or to find your local rep, please contact Stephen Barrie on 020 72667410 or at stephen@linacre.org

St Matthew, Apostle & Evangelist

Os justi meditábitur sapiéntiam, et lingua ejus loquétur judícium: lex Dei ejus in corde ipsíus. Noli aemulári in malignántibus: neque zeláveris faciéntes iniquitátem.

The mouth of the just shall meditate wisdom, and his tongue shall speak judgment: the law of his God is in his heart. Be not emulous of evil doers: nor envy them that work iniquity.

Today is the feast day of my Patron Saint Matthew, the author of the inspired first Gospel. By contrast, I'm not doing anything special! If I'm lucky I may make it to Mass! But it's nice to reflect upon today's Gospel, which speaks to me in so many ways:

At that time, Jesus saw a man sitting in the custom house, named Matthew; and he saith to him: Follow me. And he rose up and followed him. And it came to pass as he was sitting at meat in the house, behold many publicans and sinners came, and sat down with Jesus and his disciples. And the Pharisees seeing it, said to his disciples: Why doth your master eat with publicans and sinners? But Jesus hearing it, said: They that are in health need not a physician, but they that are ill. Go then and learn what this meaneth, I will have mercy and not sacrifice. For I am not come to call the just, but sinners.

(Matthew 9:9-13)

As a physician myself, I must remember that the true physician is surely Christ, who alone has the power to heal souls, as he did with Matthew.

"Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God; Have mercy on me, a sinner"

First Week on the Job

Many people out there will be thinking, "thank goodness he now has a job; he'll be less busy wasting time on the blog, spending a student loan, and will finally be supporting his family!"

To which I would heartily agree! But what a shame that a whole week has gone by without updating the blog on how this momentous time has gone. No time like the present, I guess:

Perhaps I am unfortunate in that I have had almost the busiest schedule possible as a first week FY1 (foundation year 1) junior doctor. While everyone else were getting used to the day-to-day running of their ward, with their duties and responsibilities; I was launched into the deep end with a weekend of nights on-call. I really shouldn't complain, since the hours used to be much more antisocial. But even now that they are EWTD (European Working Time Directives) compliant, working 66 hours over the last 7 days has been a bit of a shock to the system. 12-hour shifts are a strange species, especially when embarked upon overnight.

The good news is that I have thoroughly enjoyed the work. Seeing patients, being given responsibility, and realising I know slightly more than I thought, have all been a welcome change to the days of medical school. But by far the best thing about working life, as many fathers will testify to, is getting home and seeing the happy smiles on my family's faces! My little one beams and shrieks with delight when I pull up onto the drive, in an almost ecstatic outpouring of love! I never realised being a Dad would be quite so overwhelming!

So now, after only a week, I appreciate three things much more:

• 1) My family
• 2) Normal 8 hour working days
• 3) Sleep

Although I have always been good at appreciating that last one. Maybe I should also appreciate the European Union more, for passing laws that makes it illegal for my employer to work me any harder than they currently do...

And of course I should also appreciate the Lord God Almighty, who has made my success possible by all the gifts he has bestowed upon me. I will certainly need continual divine help to meet and conquer the many challenges that being a doctor entails... Hopefully I will be able to write more at length about these in due course.

HURRAY!!

I am a registered Doctor!! At last, I have been let leash on the general public, whom I intend to serve as best I can...

Tomorrow I take over my predecessor and start the job properly. Today was just induction.

Deo Gratias!

Graduation Day

The day has finally come, and it felt great, to graduate from the University of Birmingham with a Bachelor in Medicine and Bachelor in Surgery (MB ChB). But of all my achievements, my proudest one is being there today with my beautiful wife and baby daughter. Deo Gratias!

Linacre Centre International Conference

Incapacity and Care:
Moral Problems in Healthcare and Research

An international conference to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Linacre Centre's foundation

St Mary's University College
Strawberry Hill
5-7 July 2007

Organised by Linacre Centre of Healthcare Ethics (London)
With Sponsorship from Ave Maria School of Law (Michigan)

I am really looking forward to this conference, which will be my first taste of what the Linacre Centre has to offer. I imagine it will really give me a huge boost, especially since the prospect of being a practising doctor is looming and makes me feel somewhat nervous.

Speakers will include Archbishop Mario Conti, Fr Benedict Groeschel, Dr David Jones, Dr Bill Sullivan, Dr Wendy Hiscox, Professor Desmond O'Neill, Dr Helen Watt, Dr Aaron Kheriaty, Anthony McCarthy, Dr Philip Howard and Professor John Finnis.

Recess

In view of the most fantastic wonderful news since the birth of my baby girl, I am taking a bit off time off blogging. I'm sure if you tune in next weekend you will find something new here, but until then don't count on it!

It was very nice to receive so many congratulations messages. I didn't like to think what would have happened if I hadn't passed my degree, so it was a joy to share this good news with you all. May God bless you and keep you from all evil, and bring you all to everlasting life!

I hope to reflect on the Hippocratic Oath soon. Our Medical School doesn't have 'oaths' as far as I know, so I will perhaps have to arrange a suitable time and setting to truly consecrate my qualification to God, so that my skills may only be used for His Greater Glory. Personally, I never saw what all the fuss was about with old Hippocrates; all the invocation of Greek gods and the forbidding of sharing secret medical knowledge with lesser mortals seemed a bit outdated to me. Anyway, let me know what you all think!

Back from the Brink!

What a busy few days... Just got back from pilgrimage to Walsingham.

I am pleased to announce that I passed all my final exams and only have one more to do in June. So I am pretty much home dry. Many said I would not be able to do finals with a new baby, but with the Grace of God through the intercession of St Joseph, it was readily achieved.

I will post more about the weekend in due course, but for now couldn't resist posting this wonderful photo of Maddy with our Archbishop Vincent Nichols (and her Mum and Grandma) who led a wonderful diocesan pilgrimage on Saturday.

The Great Exam

A great big exam in the Great Hall of Birmingham University's Aston Webb building this morning! All 360 medical students in the final year. For most of us, it will be the last time we enter the Great Hall until our Graduation ceremony in July. What a fabulous occasion! It was quite a sight, with row upon row of busy beavers; a sight which I would have loved to capture on camera if it weren't for the exam regulations!

The exam went okay, although I always find 3 hours arduous, even with just short answer and multiple choice questions. The setting was quite splendid, with stained glass, high domed roof, university crests adorning every orifice (more on that on a later post) and portraits of all the university's chancellors. I can't wait for the graduation ceremony, the last of which I attended was back in 2003 when Wendy graduated (left, courtesy of Peter Gosling her father!)

Here is a picture of the external of this building at the centre of the university (Chancellor's Court). It is named after one of its architects, Aston Webb (1849-1930), the other being Edward Ingress Bell (1834-1913) and was built 1900-1909. They also designed the law courts, which I hope to show you at a later date. As you can see, I took this last winter! Things are much more radiant and bright at the moment!

All I have to tackle now is 2 scary Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (ie roastings) which will be the icing on the cake for this week's stress levels. After that I have a resit exam in June (hopefully just one!) but otherwise I should be having a magnificent summer as the fine English weather approaches!

Another MTAS fiasco

It appears there has been a security breach in the confidential information of medical student applicants in the MTAS system this year. That means me.

If any of you readers accessed my personal details, please can you get in touch with me before you unexpectedly pop round my house for tea. Just to give me an idea of numbers.

Exam Time!!

Next week I have exams for my final placements of the year, and the medicine course as a whole! Although I still have a professional development programme to follow, and a re-sit in June, THE END IS IN SIGHT!!! In fact, I recently found out that despite the MTAS fiasco, I've got a job secured for August at a nearby District General Hospital. Hurray!

So posting will be thin on the ground until 4th May. But rest assured, I have many exciting things to write about, including two Pugin Cathedrals, the ornate chapel of the Birmingham Children's Hospital, and the architecture of old Birmingham. Not forgetting a parenting update, and maybe even some contribution from my wonderful wife (who also has some interesting things up her sleeve)! So watch this space!!

A recent picture of Madeleine to wet your appetite!

Nurse's Prayer

I saw this prayer on the noticeboard in the nurse's station on a pre-labour ward, and couldn't resist sharing this touching moment with you:

O my God, teach me to receive the sick in Thy Name.
Give to my efforts success for the glory of Thy Holy Name.
It is Thy work; without Thee I cannot succeed.
Grant that the sick Thou hast placed in my care
may be abundantly blessed,
and not one of them be lost
because of any neglect on my part.

Help me to overcome every temporal weakness,
and strengthen in me whatever may enable me to bring joy
to the lives of those I serve.
Give me grace, for the sake of Thy sick ones,
and of those lives that will be influenced by them.
Amen.

There are touching moments like this in many working days, and we must always be grateful for them.

It has been a pleasure to be able to attend a Mass at this Hospital every Monday lunchtime. Wendy has even managed to come and meet me with Maddy for this! What I don't understand is why the priest never wears a chasuble??

Pro-life Lecture at Birmingham Uni

The University of Birmingham Catholic Chaplaincy

FIRST ANNUAL POPE JOHN PAUL II EVANGELIUM VITAE LECTURE

“The Status of the Unborn Child in International Human Rights Law”

Rev Dr John Fleming
Director of the Southern Cross Bioethics Institute, Adelaide
President of Campion College, New South Wales
Former Member of Unesco’s International Bioethics committee
Member of the Pontifical Academy for Life

Vaughan Jeffries lecture theatre
School of Education, University of Birmingham
(Main Edgbaston Campus -Enter by the East Gate and turn Right)

Thursday 15th February 2007
7.00pm

For further information contact:
Fr Julian Green (Friends with Christ)
Tel: 0121 454 4395/414 7000 or email j.c.green@bham.ac.uk