through the door
Body Conscious
Local People 53 Dr Claire Smith
Kris Thomas meets Dr Claire Smith, Head of Anatomy at Brighton & Sussex Medical School Dr Claire Smith is softly spoken and looks smart in a black linen dress. She stops to chat and introduce me to various staff and students as we make our way to her office. She seems to be on great terms with everyone, enquiring about team members' days and making small talk. Claire is in charge of this entire facility where donor bodies are examined by both medical students and qualified doctors and surgeons. This operation is a key part of training the country's medics and it is no overstatement to say that it helps save lives. It is a colossal responsibility and Claire reports to the Human Tissue Authority (HTA). If HTA regulations are not strictly adhered to here, ultimately it is Claire who could end up in prison. Claire is also an examiner for the Royal College of Surgeons, a highly regarded position which takes her around the country and overseas giving lectures and assessing medical students during their exams. She tells me that the recognition attained through the Royal College of Surgeons' appointment has been one of the highlights of her career to date.
I decline the offer of gloves, "Don't worry, I won't touch anything" I say. Claire has advised me that there are bodies in the dissecting room which are covered up and checks again that I am happy to go in for a look around. I confess that the bodies are a huge fascination for me.
The medical science building on the site of Sussex University is undergoing renovation at the time of my visit. The number of medical students they can accommodate is increasing in the next academic year from 130 to 200 in line with government promises to get more doctors into the NHS to meet the ever increasing demand.
The Dissecting Room (DR) is brightly lit and large - it accommodates 70 students at a time. There are nine stainless-steel trolleys, two of which hold bodies concealed under blue plastic covers elasticised like a bed sheet to encase them. Claire shows me the sinks where the students wash their hands and on the facing wall the sinks where they wash their equipment after use. Although the 'patients' here are no longer alive, hygiene is still of paramount importance. Claire explains that mould can develop on the bodies if the environment is not kept sterile and to achieve this the air in the DR is completely changed ten times an hour. The bodies currently on the tables are preserved with formaldehyde and will last for as long as they are needed which could be up to a year. Claire tells me the bodies can look slightly unreal, the flesh becomes sallow and puffy-looking from the formaldehyde - "it is the oxygen in our blood that gives our skin its pink colouring" Claire explains. I feel a sense of complete awe that this person lying here has willingly handed themselves over to Claire's care to be examined and used by doctors in-training in whatever way is needed. "It's a truly amazing gift" says Claire who tells me that many donors themselves have a medical background and know of the need for bodies to study.
We enter the large cloakroom where students and staff adorn their overalls - the "scrubs". I have to leave my belongings and phone here but am allowed to take my notebook. Two skeletons on wheeled stands watch over the bags and jackets, a few things are seemingly out of place due to the renovations...
If she could go back in time Claire tells me, she would love to meet Adreas Vesalius, often referred to as the founder of modern human anatomy, or William Hunter or his brother John - both pioneers of anatomical research in the 18th century 'golden age' of discovery. Claire tells me she also very much admires colleague
Claire lives in Storrington with her husband and two daughters. How does she balance her busy career with her family life? "When I'm at work I'm Dr Smith but when I get home I can't wait to put on my jogging bottoms and be the best mum I can be". I suggest that she must have to compartmentalise her life to some extent which Claire agrees is true. Mostly it would not be appropriate (or desirable) to discuss her work over dinner. Husband Trevor is hugely supportive Claire says, and is incredibly proud of her achievements. He has also helped a great deal with suggestions and proof reading of her new book due out later this month.