Book Now
Book Now

Bristol Clamshell take on 'The Big Abseil'

9/3/20261 min read

In 2023, Bristol and Weston Hospitals Charity awarded the Bristol Clamshell Group a grant to fund our pilot course and train eight clinicians as faculty. This funding helped us purchase a low-fidelity thoracotomy trainer and the instruments needed to deliver emergency thoracotomy training.

Three years on, we’ve trained over 120 clinicians in the region and over 20 senior clinicians as part of the faculty. We also provide at least eight fully funded “Clamshell Bursaries” to support resus nurses across the South West.

The charity continues to support the Bristol Clamshell Course through its small grants scheme, which has supported a number of our nursing colleagues attend the course.

We’re hugely grateful for this support. Without it, we wouldn’t have been able to reach as many clinicians or extend this life-saving training across the South West.

As a thank you, the Clamshell team are fundraising to support the charity’s work tackling knife crime and supporting those affected by it.

Four of our Bristol Clamshell Faculty are taking on the challenge:

• Mr Stelios Gaitanakis – Consultant Thoracic Surgeon & Course Director
• Dr Jack Dryburgh-Jones – Anaesthetics Registrar & QI Lead
• Dr Lydia Wilcox – Emergency Medicine Registrar & Course Faculty
• Dr Emma Low – Senior Anaesthetics Registrar, Course Director & Committee Lead.

Thank you to the charity for believing in the Clamshell Course from the very beginning and helping us bring this training to clinicians across the South West.

If you can, please consider sponsoring them and supporting their fundraising efforts. Every donation, no matter how big or small, will help the charity continue its work supporting communities affected by knife crime.

Donations can be made here: https://big-bristol-abseil-st-mikes-2026.raiselysite.com/t/the-bristol-clamshell-course