OBE RECOGNISES TEAM EFFORT AT COUNTY
OBE recognises team effort at County medical director
THE work and dedication of three of those involved in the emergency and medical operations in the aftermath of the August 15 bomb in Omagh has been recognised in the New Year's Honours list.
The Order of the British Empire (OBE), was awarded to Dr. Clive Russell, medical director of Tyrone County Hospital and Mr. John McKinney, chief executive of Omagh District Council, while Sergeant Philip Marshall, of Omagh RUC station, was made a Member of the British Empire (MBE).
Dr. Russell has been at the 'County' for 20 years. His wife, Judy, is also a doctor, working in the ENT services at both the 'County 'and Erne hospitals. They have three grown-up children.
A native of Newtownards in County Down, Dr. Russell moved to Omagh to succeed the late Dr. Antony Pollock at the 'County', and it is a move he has never regretted.
He said: "I did not know much about Omagh before then, but my younger brother, a police sergeant, was stationed here and he told me it was a decent town. It was on that recommendation I came, and I have always found he was right.
"I have enjoyed working in Omagh, and I have tried to become involved in community affairs, apart from my work at the hospital."
Like the other recipients of awards, Dr. Russell was contacted late last year and told he had been been nominated for an award. He was not told which one, and heard nothing more until last last week when he received a telephone call from Sky Television asking for an interview.
"They assured me it was serious and it was not a joke, and I then had to ring around my friends and family to let them know, before it was broadcast on New Year's Eve," he said.
There had been an amazing reaction from relatives, friends and colleagues, said Dr Russell.
"People have been coming up to me in the hospital and in the town congratulating me, and I have had a lot of cards and letters of congratulations," he said.
But Dr. Russell stressed he saw the award as a recognition of the team effort at the 'County' in the aftermath of the bomb.
"It was a joint effort," he said.
Dr. Russell was at home on the afternoon of the explosion, and was called in to the hospital.
He recalls that an immediate concern for him was that one of his sons and a friend were home from England and had gone out to Gortin Glens for the day, with a visit to the town planned for afterwards.
It was with some relief that he encountered his son driving home as he drove towards Omagh.
Vivid memories
Dr. Russell says he has some vivid memories from the hectic hours immediately after the explosion.
He is sure that everything which could have been done for the injured was done.
"We did it, but I don't know how," he said.
Added Dr. Russell: "We had so much help, not only from our own staff, but from other medical professionals who came to offer their assistance.
"We seem to have done the right things. We sent people to the hospital units they needed to go to, in the best condition we could."
Dr. Russell reflected on the fact that the August 15 bombing was not the first atrocity to have happened in this area. Omagh had the Ballygawley bus bombing, and Enniskillen had the Remembrance Day bombing, both 10 years before.
The treatment of the August 15 survivors will go on for months, he said.
As he spoke in his office at the 'County', two of those survivors, Donna Marie Keyes and her fiancee, Garry McGillion, passed by on their way to a regular outpatient appointment.
Much of the rehabilitation work will be in physiotherapy, and the hospital has taken over the former Camowen Hill Home for a modern physio suite.
"The Sperrin Lakeland Trust would like a new purpose-built rehabilitation suite on site at the County, and that is my aim," he said.
Dr. Russell is now the third-longest serving surgeon at the County, and has seen many changes.
Amid all the expressed fears for the future of the hospital, he points out that even 20 years ago those same fears were heard.
"I can remember being at a public meeting a short time after I came and I stood up and said I was sure there was a future for the County, and I still believe that, though there will be more changes," he said. "I have never been pessimistic about the future of the County."
Dr. Russell says he has many vivid memories about the days after the bomb, though hesitates to call them flashbacks.
He said the doctors and nurses constantly talked about what they were doing and experiencing, and that helped.
Among the visitors to the hospital who had most impressed him were Prince Charles, Mr. John Prescott, the deputy Prime Minister and Mr. Bertie Ahern, the Irish premier. He also recalls being humbled by the way the President of Ireland, Mrs. Mary McAleese, was able to speak fluently in Spanish to one of the injured.
Dr. Russell's award was for services to medicine, but he said it was important that people realised it was a recognition of the work of all at the hospital after the bomb.
"I will not be any different now, and I would not like to be," he said.
THE work and dedication of three of those involved in the emergency and medical operations in the aftermath of the August 15 bomb in Omagh has been recognised in the New Year's Honours list.
The Order of the British Empire (OBE), was awarded to Dr. Clive Russell, medical director of Tyrone County Hospital and Mr. John McKinney, chief executive of Omagh District Council, while Sergeant Philip Marshall, of Omagh RUC station, was made a Member of the British Empire (MBE).
Dr. Russell has been at the 'County' for 20 years. His wife, Judy, is also a doctor, working in the ENT services at both the 'County 'and Erne hospitals. They have three grown-up children.
A native of Newtownards in County Down, Dr. Russell moved to Omagh to succeed the late Dr. Antony Pollock at the 'County', and it is a move he has never regretted.
He said: "I did not know much about Omagh before then, but my younger brother, a police sergeant, was stationed here and he told me it was a decent town. It was on that recommendation I came, and I have always found he was right.
"I have enjoyed working in Omagh, and I have tried to become involved in community affairs, apart from my work at the hospital."
Like the other recipients of awards, Dr. Russell was contacted late last year and told he had been been nominated for an award. He was not told which one, and heard nothing more until last last week when he received a telephone call from Sky Television asking for an interview.
"They assured me it was serious and it was not a joke, and I then had to ring around my friends and family to let them know, before it was broadcast on New Year's Eve," he said.
There had been an amazing reaction from relatives, friends and colleagues, said Dr Russell.
"People have been coming up to me in the hospital and in the town congratulating me, and I have had a lot of cards and letters of congratulations," he said.
But Dr. Russell stressed he saw the award as a recognition of the team effort at the 'County' in the aftermath of the bomb.
"It was a joint effort," he said.
Dr. Russell was at home on the afternoon of the explosion, and was called in to the hospital.
He recalls that an immediate concern for him was that one of his sons and a friend were home from England and had gone out to Gortin Glens for the day, with a visit to the town planned for afterwards.
It was with some relief that he encountered his son driving home as he drove towards Omagh.
Vivid memories
Dr. Russell says he has some vivid memories from the hectic hours immediately after the explosion.
He is sure that everything which could have been done for the injured was done.
"We did it, but I don't know how," he said.
Added Dr. Russell: "We had so much help, not only from our own staff, but from other medical professionals who came to offer their assistance.
"We seem to have done the right things. We sent people to the hospital units they needed to go to, in the best condition we could."
Dr. Russell reflected on the fact that the August 15 bombing was not the first atrocity to have happened in this area. Omagh had the Ballygawley bus bombing, and Enniskillen had the Remembrance Day bombing, both 10 years before.
The treatment of the August 15 survivors will go on for months, he said.
As he spoke in his office at the 'County', two of those survivors, Donna Marie Keyes and her fiancee, Garry McGillion, passed by on their way to a regular outpatient appointment.
Much of the rehabilitation work will be in physiotherapy, and the hospital has taken over the former Camowen Hill Home for a modern physio suite.
"The Sperrin Lakeland Trust would like a new purpose-built rehabilitation suite on site at the County, and that is my aim," he said.
Dr. Russell is now the third-longest serving surgeon at the County, and has seen many changes.
Amid all the expressed fears for the future of the hospital, he points out that even 20 years ago those same fears were heard.
"I can remember being at a public meeting a short time after I came and I stood up and said I was sure there was a future for the County, and I still believe that, though there will be more changes," he said. "I have never been pessimistic about the future of the County."
Dr. Russell says he has many vivid memories about the days after the bomb, though hesitates to call them flashbacks.
He said the doctors and nurses constantly talked about what they were doing and experiencing, and that helped.
Among the visitors to the hospital who had most impressed him were Prince Charles, Mr. John Prescott, the deputy Prime Minister and Mr. Bertie Ahern, the Irish premier. He also recalls being humbled by the way the President of Ireland, Mrs. Mary McAleese, was able to speak fluently in Spanish to one of the injured.
Dr. Russell's award was for services to medicine, but he said it was important that people realised it was a recognition of the work of all at the hospital after the bomb.
"I will not be any different now, and I would not like to be," he said.
Further Information
Publisher: TYRONE CONSTITUTION
Ref: TC/0582
Published Date: 07-Jan-99
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