Pictured: Chief Executive Kevin McGee and physicians welcoming the cyclists
An epic cyclist arrived in Blackburn on Friday 15 July to help mark 500 years of the Royal College of Physicians (RCP).
Dr Andrew (Bod) Goddard, RCP president-elect, dropped by Royal Blackburn Teaching Hospital as part of his 2,018-mile ride around the UK. His mission is to visit as many hospitals as possible by the RCP’s birthday on 23 September, and encourage members of the RCP to sign the new Charter celebrating the milestone anniversary.
Accompanying Dr Goddard on this leg of the journey is Alex Green, Consultant Gastroenterologist at East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust. A welcome party was waiting to mark their arrival at the main entrance of the Royal Blackburn Teaching Hospital at lunchtime. Physicians from across the Trust were invited to come along and show their support by signing the charter.
Dr Goddard said: "Very few organisations reach 500 years old, let alone with their original aims intact. This is a great opportunity, not just to celebrate our past, but also to promote medicine as a brilliant and rewarding career, and reaffirm our commitment to patients.
"I’m delighted to have this opportunity and hope to meet as many of our members around the country as possible."
Originally set up in 1518, to protect people from unqualified medical practitioners, the RCP has developed this original mission into its present day pledge to provide the highest standards of patient care in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
By signing the RCP500 Charter physicians are making a commitment to patients to provide the highest standards of care, train and support doctors and healthcare professionals and act as leaders and influencers of high quality healthcare.
Damien Lynch, Consultant Gastroenterologist at ELHT said: “This is an ambitious task undertaken by Dr Goddard, giving all physicians the opportunity to re-establish our commitment to our patients, our colleagues and our profession.”