Beyond Borders: Reflections on a Richard Doll Society conference

The Richard Doll Society (RDS) welcomed delegates to Green Templeton for their annual conference on Beyond Borders: Global Healthcare in Times of Crisis on Saturday 27 September 2025. The day brought together clinicians, researchers, students, and advocates to grapple with urgent questions at the intersection of medicine, ethics, and global justice. It was made possible thanks to the generous support of donors to the college.

RDS President Felix A Radtke (clinician-scientist, MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine) reports on behalf of the society committee

Setting the stage

The conference opened with the recognition that healthcare providers today are asked to do more with less: delivering care in conflict zones, under-resourced regions, and disrupted health systems where scarcity of staff, equipment, and safety is the unfortunate norm. Our discussions centred on resilience as the lived reality of practitioners and patients.
Building local capacities and medicine in conflict zones

The morning’s first session highlighted the importance of building local capacities. Professor Kokila Lakhoo (Consultant Paediatric Surgeon, Oxford University Hospitals) shared her experience in paediatric surgery and training partnerships across Africa, particularly in Tanzania, demonstrating how long-term investment in skills and infrastructure strengthens health systems and can save thousands of children’s lives.

Dr Dennis Mazingi followed with insights from his work on paediatric trauma and injury prevention across southern Africa.

The second session turned to medicine in conflict zones. Dr Maysa Hawash (physiotherapist, Toronto, Canada), and Dr James Smith (Lecturer, University College London) spoke powerfully about the ethical dilemmas of working in zones of extreme violence. Their reflections underscored the fragility of medical neutrality when hospitals become battlegrounds and physicians become witnesses to atrocity.

The Gallery: Stories from Kakuma

During the lunch break, attendees explored poster presentations alongside a striking photographic gallery from Kakuma refugee camp. Curated in collaboration with residents of the camp, the exhibition depicted everyday acts of care in clinics marked by scarcity, including wards without electricity, makeshift operating theatres, patients and practitioners navigating chronic shortage. Yet the images also conveyed resilience, skill, and the persistence of human dignity.

Displayed in the Stables Gallery, the gallery invited delegates to pause and reflect on the lived realities behind global health discourse.

Afternoon: Workshops and Conversations

The afternoon began with Simon Tiek of the Refugee-Led Research Hub, whose work bridges personal experience of life in Kakuma for more than a decade with epidemiological research on malaria and health systems. His perspective reflected lived community realities.

Delegates then took part in a reflective workshop led by Associate Fellow Dr Meera Joshi (Clinical Medicine, 2010), creating space to process the morning’s heavy themes and consider how their own practice intersects with crisis medicine. A panel discussion followed, bringing together experts including Professor Kara Hanson, whose research focuses on the economics of health systems in low- and middle-income countries. Their exchange emphasised not only the technical and policy dimensions of crisis healthcare, but also the personal toll and resilience of healthcare providers.

Looking Ahead

As the RDS President, I was honoured to host this year’s conference. What resonated most was the collective recognition that compassion and collaboration are as vital as resources in addressing the world’s toughest healthcare challenges. The conversations we began will not end here; RDS looks forward to continuing them with you at next year’s gathering.

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