Sir Terence English KBE FRCS launches the Cavendish Medical 10th Anniversary Charity Challenge

To celebrate the company’s tenth birthday, a team from Cavendish tackled the infamous ‘Three Peaks Challenge’, climbing the highest three peaks of England, Scotland and Wales within 24 hours to raise over £5,000 for charity.

The team climbed Snowdon in Wales (1085m), Scafell Pike in England (978m) and Ben Nevis, in Scotland (1344m). To keep to the strict time limit, we needed to reach the summit of Ben Nevis in five hours, Scafell Pike in four hours and Snowdon in four hours, with around ten hours of driving in between.

The total distance walked was around 42 kilometres (26 miles) with a total ascent of 9,800 feet (3000 m).

Our aim was to raise funds for a very special charity, the Primary Trauma Care Foundation (PTCF) which trains doctors to save lives in over 60 countries around the world.

Patron of PTCF and past President of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, Sir Terence English, said: “I congratulate Cavendish Medical on taking on this considerable challenge!

“I am proud to be the Patron of the Primary Trauma Care Foundation. The two-day PTCF course trains doctors how to assess and then manage seriously injured patients at the time of their injury, when it is essential to do the right thing if the patient is to survive. My involvement with the Foundation started 12 years ago when a colleague and I took the course to Peshawar in NW Pakistan. It soon became international and by now has been delivered in over 60 countries by volunteers who have been trained in the course locally. The PTCF’s courses have saved – and continue to save – countless lives worldwide and it is a charity well worth supporting.”

Trauma is an increasingly significant cause of death and disability throughout the world. The World Health Organisation estimates that around 5 million people die each year from serious injury, the vast majority in the developing world.

The Primary Trauma Care Foundation (PTC) is a small UK charity formed in 1996 which aims to reduce the number of deaths from trauma or serious injury by providing training for front-line staff. In doing so, not only are local doctors given vital knowledge of how to cope with trauma cases with basic equipment but they can then go on to train other health professionals in the area. All PTC courses are provided free to trainees in the developing world. The costs of coordinating these courses is met by generous donations.

Although training typically starts in the capital city, in the best hospitals and with respected and experienced doctors, PTC’s vision is that it spreads as far as possible into the more remote areas and becomes locally sustainable. This is why participants train with minimum equipment and facilities, and are encouraged to find solutions to local problems. The trainees are usually health professionals who deal with trauma management in difficult situations.

Why Primary Trauma Care?

The outstanding work of Primary Trauma Care was recommended to Cavendish Medical by client Dr Jeanne Frossard, an anaesthetist at University College London Hospitals who has volunteered to teach the PTC course many times.

Jeanne said: “The PTC course is an amazing, sustainable trauma management course that can be adapted to low income settings where trauma management is very poor due to lack of infrastructure and training. It is run by volunteer trainers who give their time and skill for free but it dessperately needs funds to move forward, update and improve.

“My first course as a PTC instructor was in 2005 in Rwanda. Since then I have helped set up courses in Gaza, West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Rwanda, Namibia, Malawi, Madagascar and China. I have found it so rewarding after five days leaving about 40 trained people, 12 of which are instructors with the skills and confidence to teach trauma management in their countries and start a cascade.

“Trauma is one of the biggest killers in the developing world. There is now a PTC community in over 60 countries and twelve language translations. We regularly get reports from natural disaster and conflict areas telling us how PTC has helped. The training has given the chance for doctors and nurses to give the patient the best possible outcome with limited resources.

“The Cavendish Medical Charity Challenge supported a very worthy cause. The PTC worldwide network offers proven, adaptable training using local resources to reduce mortality and morbidity in these countries.”

Dr Jeanne Frossard with PTC-trained doctors in Rwanda