A RETIRED anaesthetist from Basingstoke met Princess Anne as she thanked volunteers who have worked on a purpose-built hospital ship.

Princess Anne, Patron of Mercy Ships International visited the vessel in Rotterdam last Friday (March 4) as it prepares to set sail to Africa.

Mercy Ships is a charity that uses hospital ships to deliver free, world-class healthcare services, capacity building, and sustainable development to those with little access in the developing world.

They rely on skilled volunteers to deliver accessible, free surgery and medical care.

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Keith Thomson was one of the lucky long-standing volunteers to meet the princess, he started working at Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital in 1995 and retired in 2014.

He said: “It felt like a real pleasure to meet a member of the royal family. I told her how I had travelled and volunteered 24 times on the ship for over 20 years before I retired in 2014.

“She thanked me for all my hard work.”

Keith first started volunteering on the ship when he saw an advert in a newspaper, which called for anaesthetists to come forward and help.

Princess Anne became patron of Mercy Ships International in 2021 and this was her first engagement in this new role after a long history supporting the charity. 

She added: “It’s an honor to be Patron of Mercy Ships International and part of the celebrations for the very first, purpose-built, teaching hospital ship in Mercy Ships’ fleet and family. A mixture of volunteers bring brilliant surgery, knowledge, and medical skills, from countries all over the world – but everybody who comes here has a skill and is happy to serve in whatever capacity will help the whole.

“The success Mercy Ships has had training doctors, dentists and medics to carry out the work in the future in their own countries – that is a real legacy.”

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The CEO of Mercy Ships UK, Joanne Balaam said she was “delighted”.

She added: “Our need for volunteers is now greater than ever – more than 2,600 a year to serve on our two-ship fleet. Today’s visit by The Princess Royal is a wonderful recognition of all those who volunteer for Mercy Ships.

“HRH saw first-hand the role they play in delivering free surgery and supporting local medics and health systems, during an earlier visit to the Africa Mercy in Sierra Leone.”

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