When Oxana joined the HDA as a volunteer in July 2010 we knew instantly we gained an enthusiastic, outgoing and energetic person. She has been working for John Lewis for the last 4 years in various roles including sales assistant, Russian interpreter and a Branch Forum member. Oxana is thrilled to be a part of HDA as she propels forward the charity to be considered for donations by the local Waitrose, oversees digital marketing using Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to promote charity and raise money, arranges radio interviews and helps organising fundraising events.

She is looking forward to continuing to work with us as we expand our marketing and press activities.

Oxana Mulligan is a post from: Honorary Doctors

We’re still developing the website so you’ll continue to see some changes over the coming months. When it’s finished we want the new website to be the centre point of the HDA. It will provide patients with all of the information they need about the HDA before they contact us for help and will provide potential sponsors with all of the information they need to make an informed decision about supporting us.

If you have any thoughts about the new website or if there is any information you feel we should add to the site, we’d love to hear from you. Please post your thoughts below.

Website Developments at the HDA is a post from: Honorary Doctors

daily medication to manage the pain. On top of the injuries from the accident, Wendy also started to lose her sight. By the time she came to the H.D.A, Wendy had only a pin prick of sight remaining.

Through the H.D.A, Wendy was able to get the time and experience needed to understand her condition and find the cause of the problem. Unknown to her or her doctor, a rare side effect of her pain control medication was loss of sight.

Through the expertise at the H.D.A, Wendy’s medication was changed and since then she has regained the majority of her sight and continues to do so.

John and Sam are keen to help support and raise awareness of the H.D.A in recognition of the help, support and treatment Wendy received.

The London Marathon 2010 is a post from: Honorary Doctors

It is with sadness that we announce that Rachael Rogers, our Secretary, will be leaving us at the end of May to head back to New Zealand.

Rachael joined Marius in February 2009 as his practice secretary and was quickly introduced to his vision for the HDA. Eight months later Rachael became the first full time HDA secretary and hasn’t looked back.

Rachael’s enthusiasm and commitment has seen the HDA grown from just herself and Marius, into a small team of volunteers, external associates and full time staff with a fully functioning website.

Rachael will be sorely missed by all of the team and we wish her the very best of luck for everything she does in the future.

Message from Rachael

“During my time with the HDA I have had the opportunity to meet some awesome people and have regarded you all as my UK adopted family. I would like to thank you all for such a wonderful experience, each and every one of you! I am still working on how I can base my HDA office in New Zealand so I can continue to support the efforts and growth of the team and the HDA.

I would like to wish Marius and the team all the best for the future – keep in touch. And if you ever find yourselves in New Zealand be sure to look me up!”

We welcome Rebecca McDonald who will be replacing Rachael as of May this year, we are very excited about having Rebecca on the team ……………..

Rachael Rogers Heading Back To NZ is a post from: Honorary Doctors

“The aim of the Honorary Doctors’ Association (HDA) is, as you know, to stand as a formal network of practitioners who offer unpaid medical help.

Patients will gain a new approach to their complaint in the hope of a quicker and more effective solution.  Either by means of a phone call or through subsequent consultation and examination, they will receive an independent, unbiased, fresh opinion from a member of the independent sector.

Last year, just prior to our meeting at St Petersburg, the HDA, after considerable correspondence, achieved charity status, and was all set to go.  Rebeccah Grant, as secretary of the HDA, came to the meeting to obtain an idea of what we in the IDF were like.  But on returning to London we both met with an astonishing number of setbacks. Rebeccah developed back problems, and her good husband was caught up in the property crash.  My computer, a little old, malfunctioned; my wireless network packed up; and, to top it all, my service provider went bankrupt, leaving my practice unable to access its database.  Fortunately, we all landed on our feet again, but Rebaccah and her husband have had to move to Jersey, which has left Rebaccah in a difficult position.

The dust having now settled, the question is: what have we achieved so far?

First, we now have a website.  As you can see, it has all the various functions that a website should have.

Second, we now have an official accountant.  That may sound tame, but charity book-keeping and accounting, with the intricacies of Gift Aid, have to be carried out meticulously.

Third, as from the 1st of July we began to keep records of patients seen.

Since then 35 consultations have been recorded, and the anonymous data entered on a spreadsheet.

Have we learnt any thing over the past three months?

We most certainly have:

1. My original notion was that all that was needed was just to put two people into  contact, with relevant instructions, and that would be that. Suffice it to say that more than that has to be done. Nevertheless, it is most satisfying work.
2. Most doctors have found the filling in of the anonymous ‘Patient Record’ slips particularly irksome.
3. Although we fully expected ‘HDA patients’ to be pleased about the help they received, the extent of their gratitude amazed us. To say it strikes a chord with patients would be an understatement.
4. Occasional pro bono service comes naturally to us in medicine, but as a public-relations exercise this must be second to none.

What of the future?

This will have two significant aspects:

1.  Management

This will centre on patients, doctors, record-keeping, and dealing with enquiries.  Should you know of any doctors, current or retired, who might like to be involved in any aspect of this interesting and worthwhile work, please don’t hesitate to let me know.

2.  Sponsorship

We have already received sponsorship, for which we are grateful. We will need more, and I’m pleased to say plans for this are well in hand.

In future, should you wish to keep up with the HDA, don’t forget to look us up at:  honorarydoctors.org

Progress of the HDA is a post from: Honorary Doctors

New Look is a post from: Honorary Doctors

Charity Status is a post from: Honorary Doctors

Over 80 doctors have already joined the Association.  Should you be interested please contact us.  Retired doctors have a wealth of information and we would very much value any input from them.

HDA Associate Members:

HDA Associate Members play an extremely valuable role in the HDA organisation. Medical practice, far from existing in isolation, dovetails with innumerable other caring professions such as nursing, physiotherapy, orthoptics, occupational therapy, optometry, audiometry – the list is enormous.  So please join!

The Honorary Doctors Association’s Support Group:

Should you feel that you morally support us, we would very much like you to join The Honorary Doctors Association’s Support Group.  You need not be a patient and we would like to recruit from all age groups.  Please let us know of any skills, interests, or time that you may have available and we will make full use of them.  Please don’t hold back!

We have every reason to believe that the number of participating doctors will continue to grow and we would very much like you to grow with us.  Join by going to ‘Contact Us’ and we will keep you fully informed of our progress and all future developments.

Thank you, you will be hearing from us soon!

Help Support Us is a post from: Honorary Doctors

We, as members, are naturally pleased at its formation, as it provides all the administrative advantages that a network provides, as well as statistics (anonymous of course) on patients’ real needs.

Should you wish to contribute to the HDA as a volunteer, donor or in some other capacity we will be very glad to hear from you.

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Join Us is a post from: Honorary Doctors

• Charity Status
• New Look
• A big cosy knit off
• Relax with yoga

Announcements is a post from: Honorary Doctors