Is War Good for Medicine? A mini series in 3 parts

Major General Tim Hodgetts is a strategic international leader in military medicine, widely known for his innovative contributions to both civilian and military healthcare. With a career spanning over 40 years, Tim has embraced being a clinician, teacher, inventor, researcher, author and war poet. He has continuously held honorary professorships since 1998 in the United Kingdom, South Africa, and Serbia and he was the inaugural Defence Professor at the Royal College of Emergency Medicine.

Tim has served on multiple overseas operations as an emergency medicine consultant, helicopter doctor, and field hospital medical director.  His leadership roles have included Head of the Army Medical Services (during the COVID-19 pandemic) and Commissioner at the Royal Hospital Chelsea. His military career culminated in his appointment as the Surgeon General of the UK Armed Forces, and separately as the elected Chair of the Committee of Chiefs of Military Medical Services in NATO—the senior medical advisor to the NATO Alliance. In 2016 he co-founded the charity citizenAID, serving as the first Chair of Trustees; he is also a Trustee of The Poppy Factory and London’s Air Ambulance charities, and Patron of Style for Soldiers. 

With a passion for innovation, Tim created his own ‘Toolset for Innovation and Change’, that provides a transferable framework to solve complex problems and improve failing systems. He has received numerous honours and awards including appointment as Companion of the Order of the Bath, Commander of the British Empire, and Honorary Surgeon to his Majesty the King. Tim’s international impact is reflected in his receipt of the Order of Military Medical Merit from the United States Army, and the Defence Medal for Meritorious Service from Denmark. During his illustrious career, he has authored over 30 books and published more than 150 academic papers. Tim was recognised across the National Health Service as ‘Hospital Doctor of the Year’. The British Medical Association named him ‘one of the most innovative doctors in the country’. 

A book of his original war poetry “Frontlines and Lifelines”, in support of The Poppy Factory, was published on 12 August 2024 and was launched in a performance at The Edinburgh Fringe.

Peter was appointed as the foundation Defence Professor of Anaesthesia & Critical Care in 2008. He established the academic department and encouraged individuals to undertake research and higher degrees.

He deployed actively to ensure that research was closely linked with the needs of the operational military and was awarded the OBE, a QCVS and the US Military Bronze Star. He was promoted to CBE in 2015, became Emeritus Professor in 2016 and undertook ballistic research at Cranfield University. He moved across to Reserve Service in 2020 retiring from the reserves in 2022.

Current academic appointments include Visiting Chairs at Imperial College London (Centre for Blast Injury Studies) and Cranfield University

 He also works in the independent film industry as an Executive Producer and fight coordinator having gained instructor qualifications in Filipino Martial Arts.

Colonel (Retired) Soundararajan ‘Jag’ Jagdish served in the Defence Medical Services for nearly thirty years during which he deployed extensively including the two Gulf conflicts, the Balkans, Sierra Leone and Afghanistan.

With one of his subspecialty interests being chronic pain management, he had the privilege of helping personnel recovering from complex injuries.

He served as Chief of Staff, Defence Anaesthesia during the years of sustained high intensity military operations and, as a newly minted MBA, helped rationalise the supply chain and speed up the timely procurement of capital anaesthesia, critical care and pain management equipment. In retirement, ‘Jag’ is an independent medical history researcher with an MA (Research) in Military History and has authored various papers and presentations. He is currently the President of the Medical Society of London in its 250^th year.

Maria worked in the NHS throughout her professional career and spent 34 years as a consultant anaesthetist at Epsom General Hospital.  

She was a Member of Council of the Royal College of Anaesthetists, and ultimately Senior Vice-President. Thereafter, she held the post of Clinical Quality Adviser to the College. She is currently Chair of the Heritage and Archives Committee at the College. 

She has always had an interest in patient information and patient safety, and worked as a GMC Associate until 2022. 

Most of her publications have been concerned with standard setting, quality assurance and safety and she is the author or co-author of several national guidelines.