Dr Adam Briki on working for the NHS and the fundraising of his great uncle, Captain Tom
Published: 02 July 2020
Dr Adam Briki, Medicine alumnus and nephew of Captain Sir Thomas Moore, is a paediatric trainee doctor at East Surrey Hospital, Redhill. He spoke to us about his time studying at St George’s, what it means to him to work for the NHS, and the impact of his uncle’s fundraising efforts on patients and frontline staff.
Reflecting on his experiences at St George’s, Dr Briki says, “I thrived in an environment that was uniquely healthcare-focused, bringing together people from all sorts of different backgrounds and walks of life with common interests.”
“Courses at St George’s are very clinically-focused. As a student at St George’s, you are on wards and in hospitals so much of the time. Being in these environments provided me with the building blocks for coping under pressure, experiences which have proven to be so valuable in the current situation. It is very strange to be working on a ward, when many of us are helping staff to adapt to new roles and changes to their normal work environment.”
Dr Briki also reflects on the relationship between research and clinical practice at St George’s, and the potential for our research efforts to support NHS workers.
“It was instilled in us from the first day at St George’s that clinical and biomedical scientists across the University all work together to support our clinical practice. I think there are few medical training schools where this relationship between research and clinical practice is so obvious.”
(Pictured: Dr Briki as a child with Captain Sir Thomas Moore and his late wife).
Speaking about the St George’s Coronavirus Action Fund – which was set up last month to help our experts contribute to national and international efforts to tackle coronavirus – he adds, “this research strives to help us understand this threat to public health. Working in the background, researchers are helping us to learn more about the implications of the disease and how we can investigate it. Throughout the last few weeks, research has fuelled important decisions, from lockdown measures to how we work together to fight coronavirus both nationally and internationally.”
Speaking of Captain Sir Thomas Moore’s fundraising efforts, and what they have meant to his own team and other healthcare teams across the country, Dr Briki says, “Uncle Tom is a man who remembers a time before the NHS, who has had to go through very difficult times in the Second World War, so it is fitting that he is rallying for us to come together for the good of the organisation.
“His fundraising efforts have meant a great deal to healthcare staff across the country, and in our own ward in East Surrey Hospital, it has meant that those most affected by having to treat Covid-19 patients now have areas where they can rest and relax. This is exactly what Uncle Tom had intended the money raised to be used for – to help those staff who are working on the front line during this very challenging and emotionally demanding time.”
Dr Briki speaks of his own sense of pride to work for the NHS, adding, “I feel so privileged to be part of a great team, and to be part of an organisation we can all be really proud of amongst all the ongoing challenges faced by this pandemic.”