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Three operating theatre staff from the award-winning Benenden Hospital in Kent have been chosen to travel to South Africa to work alongside one of the world’s leading experts in keyhole surgery.
The trio, Jenny Walker, Surgical Care Practitioner, Diane Newman, Theatre Scrub Nurse and Rebecca Fellowes, Team Leader in Anaesthetics, have been awarded the Lord Plant Memorial Travelling Trust Fellowship, given annually to employees of the Benenden Healthcare Society which owns Benenden Hospital.
They are travelling to Pretoria to work with Professor Heine van der Walt, a renowned laparoscopic (keyhole) surgeon who lectures all over the world and specialises in the field of gastric and hernia treatment. Then, in November, Professor van der Walk will be visiting Benenden Hospital where he will give a masterclass in keyhole surgery which will be transmitted live to more than 500 surgeons in the UK and Hong Kong.
Jenny Walker said: “We are very excited about our trip. It is the chance of a lifetime to work alongside one of the world’s leading experts in keyhole surgery and gives us the chance to see him at work before his visit to Benenden.
“We are looking forward to sharing our experiences with the rest of the team at Benenden and are sure we are going to learn a great deal.”
“My colleague Diane is particularly looking forward to going as she has only been out of the country once before. The Professor has kindly arranged accommodation for us and it will be a great adventure. We can’t thank the organisers of the award enough for giving us this opportunity.”
The team leave Kent on October 11 and will spend two weeks in South Africa. Professor van der Walt’s televised surgery will take place at Benenden Hospital on November 26.
Jane Abbott, Benenden Hospital Director, said: “It is a fantastic opportunity for our staff to see how an overseas hospital operates and observe one of the world’s best surgeons at work. I know it will be a very positive experience for them and that they will bring an added dimension to their team on their return.
“Here at Benenden we perform many keyhole procedures and twice a month Mike Parker, President of the Laparoscopic Association of Surgeons, holds a colorectal surgery with our team here.”
Award-winning Benenden Hospital, near Cranbrook, recently invested £2 million in a new orthopaedic service which has just treated its first patients.
Picture: left to right, Benenden staff members Dianne Newman, Rebecca Fellowes and Jenny Walker, who are off to South Africa.
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