As we slowly move out of lockdown, it was apt that our Thursday Thought was brought to us from someone in the school community who has been on the COVID frontline.
Old Viking Henry Tilney is a Consultant Robotic Colorectal Surgeon at Frimley Park Hospital, and left Orchard House in the early 1990s. He talked to Headmaster Mr Tyrone Howe, about how the COVID pandemic has impacted his role working with patients who are suffering with bowel cancer.
He said: “COVID initially had a big impact on our work patterns. The biggest problem is that it is so easy to catch if you operate on somebody who has COVID and the chance of not surviving the operation goes up by 20% if you are fighting COVID.
“We had to isolate those areas where we operate and move to an area where we could keep it safe and clean, but this meant we couldn’t operate for two months. This was very stressful for cancer patients - particularly when we were telling them the safest thing for them at the moment was to not operate. We also had issues with staff sickness. At one point we had 60% of staff off with COVID.”
During the first wave they peaked at treating 150 inpatients which at the time they thought was high but in the second wave it increased to 450 at its peak.
Henry then talked about the learning points from the pandemic, including the ease for some patients of accessing appointments remotely, however on the flip side there are some things you can’t do over the phone, like telling people they have a life changing illness - you need that personal interaction with people.
He and many of his colleagues have now had their COVID vaccine which he is really pleased about. It means people can start to interact more and slowly move out of strict lockdown measures once the majority of the population have been vaccinated.
Mr Howe and Henry then talked about pupils having to wear face masks when they return to school. He said he has to wear one every day at work and has to perform six or seven hour operations wearing one.
"The masks that people are being asked to wear are not the end of the world. If a thousand people wear a mask and you save the life one one person, it has to be worth while if it isn't doing you any harm. If it reduces the risk of transmission even fractionally, it has to be a good thing."
And what about advice for current pupils thinking of medicine as a career?
“Don’t get hung up on A level grades, some of the best doctors and surgeons had to retake their A levels to scrape into university. Equally some people who get the best grades make the worst doctors.
“It’s not about getting the best grades, it is about being able to manage uncertainty, and having adaptability as the job is very varied. It is something you should go into with your eyes wide open. It is not all sweetness and light.”
Thank you for taking the time to join us this morning Henry, thank you for the work you do and please pass on our thanks to everyone who you work with.
