This week, the Vikings returned to Skye – but his time they were saving lives.
The Viking Surgeons Association (VSA) held their 49th annual conference at An Crubh in Sleat, Isle of Skye.
From November 2 to November 4, the conference brought together surgeons from the Highlands to as far as Iceland.
The VSA are a British-Nordic association of healthcare practitioners who share an interest in the world of rural surgery.
The get-together gives rural surgeons the opportunity to show city consultants the many challenges they and their remote patients face.
It all started in a living room
The programme features sessions on many maladies; from hernias to colostomies, and dealing with multiple traumas to chronic pain management.
The Viking Surgeons yearly conference humbly began in Stornoway, 1974. The then hosts, Martin and Jean Crossfil, held the event in the living room of their marital home.
The last VSA conference held in Skye was hosted by Dr John Ball, surgeon superintendent of Broadford Hospital in 1976.
Almost fifty years later and the conference is still going strong, even during the pandemic.
Conferences were held online during lockdown. Despite this, there was an extraordinary attendance of over 500 delegates from over 50 countries.
Josep Blondal received the helmet at the last in-person conference in Siglufjordhur, North East Iceland.
A helmet shared among three
Traditionally, part of the conference includes a Viking helmet which is handed over each year to the lead Viking Surgeon named ‘Chief Skalpel’.
However, due to Covid restrictions preventing in-person conferences, three were crowned Chief this year.
The new Chief Skalpels are David Sedgwick, Gordon McFlarlane and Stuart Fergusson.
Mr Sedgwick shared that seeing so many trainees attend was great, and that it “gives us hope for the future of rural surgery.”
As a rural surgeon, he is dedicated to ensuring patients in rural areas have equal access to important surgeries and healthcare treatments.
Originally from Fort William, Mr Sedgwick has worked as far afield as Rwanda where he provided hernia surgery training.
The 50th conference will be ‘marvellous’
Surgical trainee Jasmine Brown attended the event for the first time.
She described the event as being ‘very interesting’, and that she loved her time at the conference.
“I tend to avoid bigger conferences,” she says. “I avoid the social ones like the plague, I prefer the ones where you go to learn.”
Next year will be the 50th VSA conference. Although plans are not yet set in stone, organisers have confirmed that they will plan something ‘marvellous’.
To learn more about the Viking Surgeons Association you can check out their official website, and follow their Twitter account for updates.
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