life
FASHION, HEALTH & BEAUTY
Jo Macaulay
interviews Dr
Christopher
Magier about
changes in
paediatric
care at
St Mary’s
Hospital.
Changing Reality For the
Better
Consultant Paediatrician at St Mary’s Hospital,
Dr Christopher Magier, joined the team in 2006
and his ‘small’ changes have made the treatment
of children in the maternity and neonatal units
much more user-friendly. But this autumn sees the
biggest change with the opening of the brand new
neonatal unit, which will be 2.2 times the size of
the existing one and have two more incubators.
Hailing from Poland, Dr Magier completed his
degree, PHD and specialist paediatric training
at the medical university in Wroclaw by 2000.
Moving to England in 2005 to take a post at St
Thomas’s hospital in Westminster, Dr Magier
witnessed the opening of their new Evelina
Children’s Hospital.
Paediatric care at St Mary’s has been split
between two different levels until now, but the
new £1.5million neonatal unit will bring both
units together on the first floor. “The expansion
here is an excellent move,” said Dr Magier. “It’s
not just about the extra cots (incubators) but the
neonatal intensive care unit will be in the same
corridor as the maternity unit and there will be a
connection with the theatres which is important
with acute cases. The lift is not ideal – it can
break down.”
This will also be beneficial to borderline cases.
“Shared care will be possible if the units are
together – a child may not need to be admitted to
neonatal care but can benefit from treatment from
that unit,” explained Dr Magier. “Problems such
as feeding or low blood sugar may not need to be
admitted but stay with their mothers in maternity
94
with midwife care.”
“What is important to remember is the
philosophy of birth,” he stressed. “Delivery is a
healthy physiological process so we try to make it
as non medical as possible. Doctors should not be
involved unless there is a problem.”
“I tend to change reality around,” admitted Dr
Magier who was the first student to be elected
to the senate of his university in the first free
elections in 1990. One of his first changes at St
Mary’s was the layout of inpatients. “It was as it
was in the 1950s - across the desk. If you want
a good relationship you don’t want furniture in
the way. You tend to examine children on the
parent’s laps,” he explained. He also changed the
bleeper system so that in neonatal resuscitation
the bleeper does not summon a whole crash team.
“In some neonatal emergencies it is better to have
a smaller group alerted – neonatal resuscitation
does not require as many people as a paediatric
emergency,” he explained.
Everybody at St Mary’s is looking forward to
the opening of the new unit that the Barely Born
Appeal is hoping to put £300k towards refitting.
“I lobbied for the building of the new neo natal
unit. The plans had been in place for a long time
but maybe my being here and my energy speeded
things up,” said Mr Magier who has settled
happily in Cowes with his family and hopes to do
more sailing in the future.
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