Hello, my name is Mark Compton. I am the Lord Prior of The Order of St John and it is a privilege and delight to provide these words of support to the St John Ophthalmic Association and its initiatives, and especially the MasterClass series.
Since the early foundations of St John, 1000 years ago in Jerusalem, our role has always been to serve our lords, the sick and the poor. To provide outstanding quality care and safe care to those who come to us for help.
Nothing has changed in the 21st century. Our role is very much about providing the best care we can across the areas that we operate, currently something like 44 different countries across the world, touching the lives of 4 to 5 million people a year through the good offices of some three to four hundred thousand people in St John.
But we know, those of us who are involved in healthcare, that the underpinnings of safe and high quality care are research and teaching, and that ultimately the sharing of the information as widely as we can amongst colleagues. So the work at St John Ophthalmic Association and those who are contributing to it and participating in it, are crucial to driving research, to driving teaching, and then driving and sharing that knowledge to others. It is only through those mechanisms that we could ensure that all of the lives that we touch get the best possible and the safest care that they possibly can. And of course, that as we work with each other, we learn from each other.
None of us have a monopoly on good ideas, or indeed all of the knowledge in a particular area, so the more we come together and congregate, either virtually, through the technology that is available to us now, or physically, to sit together, to think together, to do research, to teach, and then practice, is a wonderful thing that we can do to serve our community and ultimately to work to the good values of St John.
Thank you to the leaders of the St John Ophthalmic Association and to each of you for participating because your dedication to this means you dedicate yourself to community, and that is a noble and wonderful thing that each of you do.
Enjoy this series, enjoy the work of the St John Ophthalmic Association, and from me on behalf of The Order of St John, thank you for all you do.
Professor Mark Compton
Lord Prior of the Order of St John
Bio: Professor Mark Compton was appointment Lord Prior of the Order of St John in 2019. He is unique amongst Lords Prior, having been a member of St John continuously since joining as a cadet with almost 45 years of service. He has regularly volunteered at a uniformed operational level, in particular with the NSW Rural Fire Service in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia.Mark is an experienced Non-Executive Director and CEO, predominantly in healthcare and life sciences organisations. He is Adjunct Professor in management at Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia, and was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in January 2010 for services to health, hospitals, medical research and St John Ambulance.
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About SOA
The St John Ophthalmic Association was established in 2015 and is formed of clinicians, nurses, managers, and IT and healthcare professionals from across the world. The group exists to coordinate the post-graduate ophthalmic activities of the Order of St John, uniting supporters from all professional walks of life in support of The Order of St John.
The SOA not only supports the strategy of the Hospital Board in advancing teaching, training and research across all branches of the St John Eye Hospital Group (SJEHG), but also supports the developing St John Ophthalmic Hospital in Soweto, Johannesburg.
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