EIGHTH WEEKEND
This year, Eighth Weekend was on Sunday 9th December.

Our guest speaker was ex-pupil Kathleen McGrath. Kathleen was a pupil at Beechwood from 1965 – 1969. She qualified as a general and paediatric nurse in 1979, going on to specialise in intensive care nursing, before teaching cardiothoracic care at Great Ormond Street Hospital. She went on to hold a number of posts in the NHS and in the private sector, both in the UK and abroad, including the USA, Italy and Saudi Arabia.

In 1986, Kathleen was a key founder of the Medical Advisory Service, which is a telephone information charity, run by nurses invalided out of the NHS, providing advice and information on a wide range of medical subjects. Nearly 2 million calls from consumers have been taken by the MAS since it started.

Since 1994, Kathleen has been using her broad clinical and communications experience to advise the pharmaceutical industry, being appointed as consultant Director to the Corporate Communications Division of GlaxoSmithKline in 2000. In addition to her clinical and communications work, Kathleen has written and broadcast on TV and radio on medical matters since 1986. She is also a lecturer and published author who regularly contributes articles to the nursing, pharmacy and consumer press.

Kathleen inspired us with her energy and her message that it was possible to do good and have fun at the same time. The presentation of certificates was followed by the Mass and traditional Candlelit Procession.