Locum GP Dr Alan Stone has graduated with a Postgraduate Diploma in Mountain Medicine from UCLan’s West Cumbria Campus - the only International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation (UIAA) approved course in the UK
As the sole doctor for the communities of a group of small remote Scottish Islands, where even helicopters can take hours to reach, being able to step up into the emergency role when severe accidents occur is essential.
That’s why 63-year-old locum GP Alan Stone decided to complete a Postgraduate Diploma in Mountain Medicine at the University of Central Lancashire’s West Cumbria Campus (Westlakes), the only International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation (UIAA) approved course in the UK.
Dr Stone, who is originally from Cardiff, said: “The University of Central Lancashire’s course has a good reputation for providing the skills I need in remote and mountainous environments. I also want to get involved in providing medical cover with expeditions to the high mountains in the Himalayas and elsewhere around the globe. This qualification will help me achieve that aim and more importantly ensure that I am adequately trained for the situations I will find myself in.”
As part of the course, Dr Stone was able to combine the theory he learnt in the classroom with the wilds of the great outdoors during visits to North Wales, the Cairngorm mountains in Scotland and in the high Alps in Switzerland.
"I am an older doctor and grandfather who many people would think should be putting up my slippered feet and behaving my age and not my shoe size"
— Dr Alan Stone, new UCLan graduate
“In these places the high-tech medical equipment we are used to working with may not be immediately to hand and the cavalry may not be coming over the hill to rescue the situation,” added Dr Stone.
“We had to think on our feet with the numerous scenarios presented to us and use the evidence base we had found in the literature to support our decision-making processes.”
Having graduated on Thursday 14 December, Dr Stone intends to use the skills he gained via the Diploma in Mountain Medicine to continue working with his local mountain rescue team in the Brecon Beacons when he’s not using his extra knowledge on the remote Scottish islands of North Ronaldsay, Orkney, Sanday and Westray as a locum GP.
Dr Stone said: “I am an older doctor and grandfather who many people would think should be putting up my slippered feet and behaving my age and not my shoe size.
"The University of Central Lancashire’s course has a good reputation for providing the skills I need in remote and mountainous environments"
— Dr Alan Stone, Postgraduate Diploma in Mountain Medicine graduate
“It is part of my philosophy to ensure that I stay fit in mind, body, and attitude. I think taking on new challenges has helped me to achieve that. I was able to keep up with the youngsters, many of whom weren’t even born when I was already working as a well-established GP in Cardiff.
“I was the oldest on the course but I certainly wasn’t the last walking up the hills and felt I kept up academically and passed all my assignments first time.”
Dr Stone’s advice for younger GPs is to be nice to students when progressing through their careers. When he had his own surgery 30 years ago, Dr Stone mentored a medical student. That student is now none other than the academic lead on the Diploma course at UCLan.
“I did have to ask him whether I had been nice to him and was relieved to hear that I had,” joked Dr Stone.
“I was glad I had delivered on my promise to myself to be nice to students when I was on the upward trajectory of my career, just in case I met them again when I was on the way down.”