With thanks for 20 years of dedication to Interburns
Next year, Interburns will mark its twentieth anniversary, Professor Trish Price has been with us since the very first days. Initially, in 2004, myself and our beloved colleague and dedicated burn surgeon, Dr Shobha Chamania, set up a link between our burn services – in Swansea, Wales and Indore, India. In 2005, I proposed extending this link to become a broader global organisation and ‘Interburns’ was born. However, for an idea to become reality it is a slightly more complex process!
Professor Price (‘Trish’) worked with me in the multidisciplinary Burn Reconstruction Clinic in Swansea and had an exceptional skill set, clinically, academically and administratively. In 2006 she agreed to come on board as the first Trustee, enabling us to register Interburns as a charity.
From these humble beginnings, Interburns has grown into a worldwide collaborative organization with significant impact and has helped to move burn care and prevention up the global health agenda. As the Board grew and finances improved, it was clear that Trish would be the ideal choice as Chair. She has been an essential part of our growth and development over the last 20 years.
She also joined the Centre for Global Burn Injury Policy and Research as Professor and academic lead at Swansea University, overseeing numerous grant applications, academic publications as well as PhD supervision. It was through this work, in conjunction with Interburns, that we were able to provide documented evidence of the effectiveness of our approach to service improvement and capacity building.
Her role as Chair was always carried out with immense enthusiasm and unstinting hard work which helped us transform from a somewhat amateur collective of good-willed and well-meaning professionals, into a professional organization that now has a core of essential full and part time employees and, since 2022, a CEO and an expanded international Board.
Beside all this, Trish still managed to find time to travel with Interburns to deliver trainings, meet with health ministries and attend development workshops including in Nepal, India, Bangladesh and Pakistan. We have much to thank Trish for, and would not be where we are today without her resolute belief in what we are trying to achieve and the dedicated effort and many hours of hard work she has put in.
On a personal level Trish has been a wonderful companion on this voyage and many are the phone calls, emails and texts over the years, at all hours, when she has offered advice, comfort and encouragement.
While we are sad to see her step down from the Board, her retirement is entirely merited and we hope that she will now have time to relax a little, to benefit from her young grandchildren, to play the cello, perhaps go to a few more operas and enjoy a glass of wine with Glyn, her husband of 48 years!
Many thanks Trish, and all the best for the future!
Dr Tomo Potokar
Founding Director Interburns