An Anaesthetist at the Royal United Hospital in Bath has been honoured for his outstanding contribution in the field of Anaesthesia.
Dr Tim Cook, Consultant in Anaesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine at the RUH, has been awarded the ‘Macintosh Professorship’ for 2012-13, from the Royal College of Anaesthetists. It is the first time this award has been given to a doctor from a district general hospital.
Professor Cook has led two National Audit Projects for the Royal College of Anaesthetists and is now in charge of co-ordinating future projects. The projects have examined rare complications of anaesthesia, but by involving every NHS hospital in the UK they have provided much information to make patient care safer. The first project explored the safety of epidurals and areas where practice might be improved, the second breathing complications of anaesthesia and the importance of using a specialised monitor called a capnograph to prevent these. The current project examines accidental awareness during general anaesthesia.
The projects have attracted widespread international interest. In addition to changing national medical practice in the UK the studies have led to new guidelines for best practice and improved the safety of patient care.
Professor Cook said: “I am honoured to receive this award. It was achieved as much by others’ efforts as by my own. Each of these projects involves three years’ work by administrators, doctors, lay members and project teams within every UK hospital.The project reports represent the largest studies of these areas of anaesthetic practice in the world and rely entirely on the hard work of anaesthetists throughout the UK.
“I spend a significant part of my working life on these projects and this could not have taken place without the generous support of the RUH and of my departmental colleagues, for which I thank them.”
The Macintosh Professorship is one of a number of national accolades received by the doctors within the Department of Anaesthesia at the RUH in the last 18 months for their substantial contribution to the practice of anaesthesia. Other recipients include Dr Fiona Kelly, Dr Carol Peden, Dr Andy Lim and Head of Research & Development Professor Mark Tooley.
Dr Alex Goodwin, Head of the RUH Department of Anaesthesia said “Anaesthetic practice has always been based on ensuring patient safety and improving patient experience. Doctors in our department have received a number of honours recently in recognition of the hard work carried out by them and their colleagues. I believe this is good news for patients at the RUH who can benefit both from expert medical care and from the improvements in safety brought about as a result of these projects.”