The Pat Farry Rural Health Education Trust is excited to announce that we will be hosting a  special event fundraiser as part of the National Rural Health Conference in Blenheim this year.

A Private Film Screening ‘She Shears’ | 5 April 2019 | ASB Theatre

Click here to book! 

Please join us along with family and friends for DINNER THEATRE at the ASB Theatre, Blenheim for a fundraising event hosted by the Pat Farry Rural Health Education Trust.

In conjunction with the National Rural Health Conference, and as a fundraiser for the Pat Farry Rural Health Trust, we will be hosting a private screening of the She Shears Film with a Q+A session with guest speaker Jack Nicol (Film Director).

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As I hung up my white coat for the last time, I reflected on all the great memories of my 5 weeks in the radiodiagnostic department in Pisa, Italy. One particular stand out was being able to trial a new technology in radiodiagnostics utilising virtual reality technology, with the goal to improve the skills of doctors using ultrasound. › Continue reading…

Marilynn Webb artworks to feature at National Rural Health Conference as part of Pat Farry Rural Health Education Trust fundraising event.

Marilynn with her Te Waka Toi award. As feautured in the ODT Monday November 7th

The Pat Farry Rural Health Education trust is delighted to announce that a major component of their fundraising drive in 2019 will feature the auctioning of several original Marilynn Webb prints.

A former Francis Hodgkin Fellow and Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, Marilynn Webb is widely considered to be one of New Zealand’s most distinguished and influential artists.

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Annelise Brown and Annabel Merrett, fifth-year medical students at the University of Otago School of Medicine, have been announced as the 2018/2019 recipients of the Pat Farry Rural Health Education Trust Travelling Scholarship by Sue Farry on behalf of the Pat Farry Rural Health Education Trust’s trustees.

The scholarships are worth a total of $10,000 and will assist the students with costs associated with undertaking trainee intern electives in innovative and challenging overseas situations next year. Annabel Merrett, from Nelson, will travel to Pisa, Italy and then to Peru, while Annelise Brown, from Christchurch, will travel to Guatemala.

“The Pat Farry Rural Health Education Trust’s vision is for our work and the experiences that these medical students gain on their electives to ultimately contribute to the quality of rural health services in all regions of New Zealand,” said Mrs. Farry. › Continue reading…

The Pat Farry Rural Health Education Trust has announced application details for its Travelling Scholarship for 2018/2019. The annual Pat Farry Rural Health Education Trust Travelling Scholarship awards up to $10,000.00, which may be divided between two recipients. The scholarship assists medical students to travel internationally to a rural situation to observe new concepts, develop their own skills and share their learning with other students when they return.

2017/2018 Traveling Scholarship recipients Mark Owen-Cooper and Tash Austin

“Scholarships offered by the Pat Farry Rural Health Education Trust assist young people to spend valuable time in innovative and challenging overseas situations, to return, and to become the new idea generators here in New Zealand,” said Mr John Farry, Pat Farry Rural Health Education Trust Chairman.

General Practitioner Dr Pat Farry was a tireless advocate and champion of rural health before he passed away in 2009. He devoted much of his career to advocating and lobbying for improvements and funding for rural medicine as well as mentoring and teaching rural healthcare professionals. › Continue reading…

Tom and Meagaidh from Search & Rescue

Before I arrived at the Belford it had been joked that in summer the hospital was full of mountain bikers and in winter skiers and snowboarders. This was to prove very true. Although there was still snow on the mountain tops the summer sports were well underway. Mountain bike accidents were right up there with the top admissions and broken vertebrae seemed to be a favourite. I saw neck, back and pelvis injuries as well as very impressive bruising covering one patients entire back. The worst cases were stabilised and sent to the bigger hospitals in Inverness or Glasgow. Most patients were tourists to the area and often transfers could be arranged back to local hospitals or spinal units closer to home in other parts of the UK.

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Welcome to Main Street, Fort William!

After a quick flight, which served to remind me just how quick and easy travelling in Europe is, I had landed in Scotland. My next placement was at the Belford Hospital in Fort William and getting there was a delight. I passed a scenic afternoon on the train traveling through golden hill ranges and past tiny stations seemingly used only by hikers stepping out to the trails, before arriving at the small but charming town that was to be my home for the next placement. Fort William has a population of around 10,000 but brings in many more visitors through its well-deserved title of ‘’Outdoor Capital of the UK”. The town nestles at the base of the Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in the UK. At 1350m it’s on the smaller side by NZ standards but is known to be covered in snow on the tops for most of the year and thus can be a technical climb. In the summer months the area is inundated by walkers and mountain bikers then the winter sees an influx of people for various snow sports. The popular West-Highland Way trail from Glasgow ends here and the mountain biking downhill world champs are held in the area.

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The huge Mater Dei Hospital

Having gotten my feet wet in the small rural hospital of Santo, Vanuatu it was time to turn to the opposite end of the spectrum. Mater Dei is a huge 900 bed Hospital located in the main city of Malta, Msida. I applied here because I wanted to contrast what I was seeing in my two rural hospital placements and see a large range of patient presentations in the time I had available. And what an experience it was!

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