Date Published:
4 November 2006 |
Doctors honoured for their work during the Troubles in Northern Ireland
At the British Medical Association's Annual Representative meeting
held in Belfast earlier this year, the Association presented a plaque to
the members of the medical profession working in NI -
"to recognise
the professionalism, dedication and impartiality of doctors in NI, past and
present, who delivered high quality healthcare in the face of a prolonged
period of civil unrest".
Seen here (right) unveiling the plaque, at a ceremony in BMA(NI) on Thursday
2 November 2006, is Mr Laurence Rocke (left), A & E Consultant at the Royal
Victoria Hospital, Belfast; with him is the BMA's NI Council Chairman, Dr Brian
Patterson.
Mr Rocke began working as a junior doctor in 1971 and spent nearly 10 years,
from 1982, at the Mater Hospital before taking up his present post at the RVH.
Speaking at the ceremony Laurence Rocke said:
" All of the staff in Northern
Ireland, throughout the years of the Troubles, treated patients in a very dedicated
way with great professionalism, tremendous skill and in a totally non-sectarian
manner.
_ It's also important to mark the work done
by GPs, community nurses, social workers and other staff who had to go out
into areas where they felt
ill at ease to treat people, often families who were bereaved. They are unsung
heroes who deserve a huge amount of credit."
Mr Rocke also said that whilst delivering healthcare during the Troubles was
at times "pretty horrendous", the one benefit it brought was that
staff acquired a great deal of experience in dealing with victims of the violence.
" There
is no question about the fact that the Troubles presented a major challenge.
It brought with it great stresses but the staff coped incredibly well and it
is great we are now essentially living in a normal society where they see just
what doctors and nurses would see in any other country."
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