Marketeer In Xtreme Challenge For Medical
Research
9 April 2007
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A marketing co-ordinator, Hannah Chalkley, is preparing for a
modern day adventure when she sets off on Saturday April 28th to
climb Mount Everest as part of a pioneering medical research
project: Caudwell Xtreme Everest.
Hannah works as the Marketing Co-ordinator at The London Clinic.
She is one of 200 volunteers from the general public who have been
selected from across the UK to take part in the three-month
expedition (March – June 2007) organised by The Centre for
Altitude, Space and Extreme Environment Medicine (CASE) at
University College London.
The project aims to place a research team on the summit of
Everest who will use the extreme environment as a means of
investigating critical illness and human physiology. As a
volunteer, Hannah will be playing a vital role by allowing the
expedition researchers to carry out specific tests on her to study
the human response to low oxygen levels (hypoxia).
Dr Denny Levett, who works in the Critical Care Unit at The
London Clinic and is one of the key researchers on the Xtreme
Everest expedition explains:
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“Low oxygen levels (hypoxia) are an almost universal problem in
critically ill patients on breathing machines. However, it is
difficult to study the effects of low oxygen levels on their own in
a hospital setting, such as The London Clinic, as patients have so
many other health problems occurring at the same time. Studying
healthy individuals with low oxygen levels on the expedition will
be invaluable in helping to increase our understanding of the
effects of hypoxia and enable us to use this knowledge when caring
for critically ill children and adults affected by it back at
home.”
For three weeks (April 28th – May 20th 2007) Hannah will be
travelling in a group of 16 volunteers including three other
colleagues from The London Clinic. Staff at the independent
hospital were offered the opportunity to apply for one of three
‘golden’ places to take part in the expedition. The chosen team
will have plenty of time to ‘bond’ on the expedition spending much
of their time trekking together, often for 4 to 5 hours a day,
camping in tea houses en route and a three-night stay at Everest
Base Camp in tents. Hannah recently had a taste of the adventure
when she took part in a pre-trek training weekend in Snowdonia
including talks and advice on equipment and acclimatisation, a
presentation on the trek itself, a training walk and plenty of time
to relax and get to know her fellow trekkers.
Looking forward to the expedition, Hannah comments:
“Having grown up in Canada near the Rocky Mountains I have spent
a lot of time hiking, skiing and cycling, and love being outdoors.
I also love to travel and experience and learn about cultures
different from my own.
“I think this is an amazing experience that will combine my love
of the outdoors and travel with my interest in the medical sector.
As a healthy individual, I feel very fortunate to have the
opportunity to be part of a research project that will benefit both
our hospital and our patients, and lead to improvements in Critical
Care.”
The London Clinic, one of the UK’s most established independent
hospitals, is dedicated to providing progressive technology and
medical excellence for all its patients. The research project holds
particular significance for The London Clinic as it is home to one
of the capital’s busiest, fully equipped Critical Care Units
(CCUs). As part of its 75th anniversary celebrations, The London
Clinic is thrilled to be supporting the Caudwell Xtreme Everest
project – both by sponsoring the medical research programme and
funding four Clinic staff members as expedition volunteers.