The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)

Dundee surgeon Alastair Faulkner’s stunning painting of his team at Ninewells is to feature in a book raising funds for NHS hospitals and patients.

- JAKE KEITH

ADundee surgeon’s stunning artwork is to be included in a new book raising cash for NHS Charities Together.

Alastair Faul kn er’ s painting, Trauma, features eight frontline health workers, including himself, caring for a patient.

The book, Portraits For NHS Heroes, goes on sale today, with a share of profits going to 140 official NHS charities across the UK which help hospitals.

Alastair, 32, who works at Ninewells Hospital and is training as a trauma and orthopaedi­c surgeon, said: “We treat patients who have sustained injuries and broken bones every day.

“Every morning we have a meeting discussing all the new patients who have been admitted to hospital known as the ‘ trauma meeting’.

“I had this idea that I wanted to paint a group portrait showcasing the different team members in our department involved in this meeting and delivering patient care.

“These members include surgeons, anaestheti­sts, doctors, nurses, operating theatre staff, radiograph­ers, and allied healthcare profession­als.”

The initiative was started by artist Tom Croft who paired frontline workers with artists via Instagram.

It attracted thousands of artists, culminatin­g in an online exhibition organised by Paintings in Hospitals.

Alastair said his oil on canvas work “represents everything good about the NHS”.

He said: “I worked from photograph­s of the team taken before formal social distancing and lockdown restrictio­ns were implemente­d.

“As this portrait was painted in a time of Cov id -19 , th is was represente­d by the masked figure in PPE on the right of the canvas, and the skeleton represents our speciality and death.

“The patient is about to have an operation on their hip and the radiograph­er is holding an X-ray demonstrat­ing a broken hip.

“This painting felt like a perfect fit that celebrated the huge influence both art and the NHS have had in my life.”

Portraits For NHS Heroes is published by Bloomsbury Caravel and is priced at £25.

All royalties, a minimum of £2.50 from the sale of each book, will be paid to NHS Charities Together to fund vital projects.

The skeleton represents our speciality

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 ??  ?? The Trauma painting featuring Alastair and fellow NHS staff Joanne Lynch, Sarah Cant, Lindsey Fulton, Fraser Harrold, Jemma Cathro, Caroline Hutchison and Peter Davies.
The Trauma painting featuring Alastair and fellow NHS staff Joanne Lynch, Sarah Cant, Lindsey Fulton, Fraser Harrold, Jemma Cathro, Caroline Hutchison and Peter Davies.
 ??  ?? TRAUMA: Surgeon and artist Alastair Faulkner with his painting, which is one of the artworks in the book Portraits For NHS Heroes published today.
TRAUMA: Surgeon and artist Alastair Faulkner with his painting, which is one of the artworks in the book Portraits For NHS Heroes published today.

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