British Hospital-UCA open new medical school

By Andrew Graham-Yooll
For the Herald

Buenos Aires has another school of medicine. No small matter this, and just one detail: two young interns entered the building on Perdriel street, just after the ribbon cutting, and one expostulated: “Look, classrooms, with windows, big ones!”

It should be said that the young interns, among many, were lining up for the very elegant table of nibbles and bites, drinks and refreshments, that climaxed the event. “I am so hungry,” said one. She sounded like a newspaper reporter on the beat.

The occasion was the formal inauguration of Buenos Aires’ newest School of Medicine, named after the Irish priest Father Anthony Benedict Fahy, a founder of the hospital killed by the yellow fever in 1870, opened in August 2011.

The spanking-new building set at one side of the British Hospital, on Perdriel street, in Barracas, is the product of a remarkable agreement between the Universidad Católica Argentina (UCA) and the British Hospital. Graduates and interns from the university have been working at the hospital for some years. Now they have a site of six classrooms and annexes integrated in a working hospital: a remarkable alliance of religion and science. The building (on the old nurses’ school swimming pool) spreads over 826 square metres, with a cost of seven million pesos.

Amazing, but yesterday morning’s event collected a large number of British Hospital supporters and well-wishers, as well as the large direct-interest crowd of medical students. British Hospital medical director Angel José Yebara ran through a history of firsts for the Hospital. Francis Fernie, head of the administrative board of the hospital, was very much in charge as usual, so were Horacio Rodríguez Penella and Benjamín Álvarez, from the Universidad Católica, and for the other side, Bishop David George, the Anglican chaplain, who partook of the blessings. The diplomatic community was there, the most visible being the Irish ambassador, James McIntyre, with the

New Zealand ambassador Darryl Dunn, Canada’s Valerie Hindle and British Consul Sean Rooney-

It was great to see the British community gathered in force, with true big wigs present, such as Terry Chapman OBE, of course, Malcolm Hunter OBE, Ralph Kirby, Eric Campbell OBE, Guillermo MacLoughlin, Jeremy Simpson, Buddy McCluskey, the all-weather William Horsey, the ever- present Edward Grant, Doreen Dover OBE, Gail Gahan and many others.

All present praised the achievement of giving Argentina a new medical teaching hospital.