For the first seminar of the Medicine & Me series, we were invited by the prestigious Royal Society of Medicine to discuss with other experts and patients about life after facial trauma, domestic violence and knife crime for a one day seminar.
It was an informative afternoon with a series of inspiring talks aimed at patients and the public. Talks were given by patients, internationally renowned surgeons and experts from other charities including Refuge and Growing Against Violence (GAV).
Both Lord McColl of Dulwich CBE and Professor Iain Hutchison chaired the series of talks. Discussions included innovative approaches to reduce domestic, street and gang violence including improving national data collection on trauma incidents and our plan to introduce a national register to alert authorities of potential domestic violence victims. Researches undertaken to improve the physical treatment of facial trauma and the psychological recovery from it were also discussed.
The conference was hugely successful with multiple coverage in the media including:
- The Evening Standard
- An editorial in The Lancet medical journal
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Mr Martin Griffith speaking on Channel 4 A piece in Channel 4 news after Saving Faces put in touch The Royal London Hospital’s very own Trauma Lead Mr Martin Griffith forward to speak to the Health Correspondent, Victoria Macdonald, on the prevention of knife crime. Following Mr Griffith’s interview with Channel 4, the President of the United States at the time responded to the piece.
As a result of the conference, an additional field has also been created in the national Trauma Audit (TARN) for suspected domestic violence (SDV) and a submission by Lord McColl to create a member’s bill to make SDV and facial injury a reportable ‘disease’.
We’d like to especially thank all the patients and their families who attended to share with the audience their extraordinary journey on life after facial trauma. Thank you also to all the professionals for their inspirational talks and tremendous work on facial trauma and preventative strategies to reduce violence:
Professor Simon Holmes – Professor of Craniofacial Trauma, Barts Health London
Mr Martin Griffiths – Lead for Trauma Surgery, The Royal London Hospital, Violence Reduction Lead, North East London and Essex Trauma Network
Mr Robert Bentley – Clinical Director of South East London, Kent and Medway Trauma Network
Mr Douglas Hammond – Senior Lecturer in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, University of Central Lancashire
Mr Duncan Bew – Clinical Director of Major Trauma and Acute Surgery, King’s College Hospital and Co-Founder of Growing Against Violence Charity (GAV)
Jane Keeper – REFUGE – The National Domestic Violence Charity
Professor Lord Ian McColl of Dulwich CBE
Professor Iain Hutchison – Director, The National Facial, Oral and Oculoplastic Research Centre (NFORC) and CEO, Saving Faces – The Facial Surgery Research Foundation
View the photos of some of the speakers from the event below.
