Patrons
Major General Tim Hodgetts CBE
Tim was commissioned in 1983 and trained at Westminster Medical School, qualifying with distinction in 1986. He holds fellowships with the Royal College of Physicians of London, Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, Royal College of Emergency Medicine, Faculty of Pre-hospital Care, Institute of Healthcare Managers, and the Royal Geographical Society. He has a PhD in Public Health (‘A revolutionary approach to improving combat casualty care’); Master’s degrees in Medical Education and Business Administration; and is a Chartered Manager. He graduated from Joint Command & Staff College (psc[j]) in 2011 and the Royal College of Defence Studies in 2018.
Sir Ranulph Fiennes
Ran has led over twenty expeditions to remote parts of the world. In 2009 he reached the summit of Mount Everest, succeeding after two previous attempts ended in failure. He is the first man to cross both the polar ice-caps and climb 8,850 metres (29,035ft) to the world’s highest peak. In 2007 he successfully climbed the North Face of the Eiger. Sir Ranulph’s expeditions have raised vast sums for charity, so not surprisingly he has been awarded an OBE for human endeavour and charitable services. In 2010, he was named as the UK’s top celebrity online fundraiser by JustGiving, and in 2007 he was awarded The Greatest Briton’s Sport Award.
He undertook the ultimate endurance test in 2003, completing 7 marathons in 7 days, in 7 different continents. What’s more he did this just 4 months after suffering a heart attack. In 1993, he and Dr. Mike Stroud completed the first entirely unassisted polar journey across the Antarctic Continent, the longest polar journey in history. He has and continues to truly live up to his family motto ‘Look for a brave spirit’.
Prof Mike Stroud OBE
Mike Stroud is a Hospital Consultant Physician but is perhaps best known for his record-breaking expeditions with Sir Ranulph Fiennes. He is a world authority on human endurance and nutrition and amongst the most well known expedition scientists, his research is used globally. Mike holds many advisory roles in UK Healthcare particularly leading the efforts by the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) to ensure that 'optimal nutrition and hydration lie at the heart of 'Quality Care'.
Mike qualified as a doctor in London in 1979 and then spent ten years in a variety of hospital posts interspersed with far reaching expeditions and travel. In 1990, he entered into full time research on endurance, nutrition and survival under extreme conditions, working at both the RAF Institute of Aviation Medicine and the Army Personnel Research Establishment. He later became the Chief Scientist at the UK Centre for Human Sciences. In 1995, he returned to hospital medicine and university work and in 1998 was appointed as a Senior Lecturer in Medicine and Nutrition, and Consultant Gastroenterologist at Southampton University Hospitals.
Prof Mike Grocott
Mike Grocott is professor of anaesthesia and critical care medicine at the University of Southampton and director designate of the Southampton NIHR Biomedical Research Centre. He is an NIHR Senior Investigator (2018-22) and was national specialty group lead for Anaesthesia Perioperative Medicine and Pain within the NIHR Clinical Research Network (2015-2021). He is a consultant in critical care medicine at University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust. He is an elected council member of the Royal College of Anaesthetists and served as vice-president (2019–20). He founded the national Centre for Perioperative Care (CPOC) and is currently vice-chair of the CPOC board.
He has served as the chair of the board of the National Institute of Academic Anaesthesia (NIAA) since 2018 and was previously the founding director of the NIAA Health Services Research Centre at the Royal College of Anaesthetists (2011-2016) and founding chair of the HQIP funded National Emergency Laparotomy Audit (2012-2017).
In 2007 Grocott summited Everest as leader of the Caudwell Xtreme Everest medical research expedition and is the founding chair of the Xtreme Everest Oxygen Research Consortium.