Hospitaller

My name is David Verity. I am an ophthalmic surgeon in London, a supporter of the Eye Hospital group, and the Hospitaller of the Order of St John.
In 2015 the St John Ophthalmic Association was formed by Hospitallers of the Order to improve opportunities for our staff. It also engages professionals interested in the activities of St John.

The Association is formed of 5 ‘hubs’ across the world, reflecting the distribution of St John’s Priories across the Commonwealth, North America, and the European St John Orders, particularly Sweden. We are also developing our on-line teaching platform, including the current MasterClass series, the evolving Cutting Edge program, and an on-line Lexicon. Finally, we are proud to support iYouth, the emerging group formed of young professionals for the Eye Hospital Group.

Over the past 5 years, Association and its supporters have sponsored medical visits for our East Jerusalem staff to Moorfields and Sweden, and supported research, salaries and regional training Fellowships. We have also run numerous meetings around the world, and recently hosted a session at the 2020 virtual World Ophthalmology Congress. These and other events, including various reports on our postgraduate activities, are detailed on this website.

Colleagues frequently ask how they can get involved in St John, and if they can volunteer as a surgeon or nurse. In the past the hospital was largely staffed by ex-pat nurses and doctors from across the Commonwealth, and I remember those days myself from the mid 1980’s. But that’s all changed, and the Hospital Group now employs well-trained local Palestinian staff for the most part. That said, we have numerous visitors to Jerusalem each year, and as colleagues you are always welcome, but we try to coordinate such visits with one of our 3 to 4 monthly teaching half days.

However, you can also support St John as a healthcare professional by contributing to our line teaching platform, and you can do that wherever you are. We run medical MasterClasses, are building an online Lexicon of ophthalmic terms, and in late 2020 are starting the Cutting Edge Series, a collection of high quality video synopses across all ophthalmic disciplines. This raises St John’s profile, and generates income through access by donation. The proceeds are then put towards vital training Fellowships, courses and observerships for St Joh’s staff. Of course, I hope you will both to visit us in Jerusalem (and perhaps Gaza), but also get involved in this new digital world of teaching and training, as well as our physical congresses and meetings, accepting the restrictions in travel we are all facing, and shall do periodically perhaps for years to come.

l finish with a note of thanks to all my colleagues across the Priories, the Hospital’s Board of Trustees, our Patron, Sponsors, and regional colleagues in Israel. But most of all I want to acknowledge the work that our Palestinian nurses, doctors and staff do for their patients. I have known many of them for over 35 years, and I have learnt from them, and always enjoys working with them, and their company. I have worked in Gaza twice in 2020, alongside Palestinian and British Colleagues, and I know that I speak for all of St John when I say how proud we are of their example to duty, their profession, and their patients.

In all this work we are motivated by the 2-part motto of the Order: Pro Fide, Pro Utilitate Hominum: ”For the faith and in the service of humanity”.
Thank you for your support for St John.