Fifty years in anyone’s book is a long time, and to say you have been serving the public for that long is quite an achievement.<\/p>\n
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Life Roseacres Clinic (10 of those in its new location).<\/p>
This year also marks a special occasion for one of the hospital’s doctors.<\/p>\n
Dr Sidney Kramer is celebrating his 50th year of work at the hospital.<\/p>
In fact, he was the first physician to start work at Roseacres, 50 years ago.<\/p>\n
The GCN caught up with Dr Kramer on Wednesday, to find out a bit about his work at the hospital.<\/p>\n
“Over the years medicine has changed a lot and the things that can be done have also changed a lot,” he said.<\/p>\n
“Today there are so many new techniques available, and the quality of work has advanced.<\/p>\n
“In those days, when I first started practicing medicine, you took a big risk when doing certain procedures.”<\/p>\n
At the old Roseacres there used to be two ICU beds, today there are 10, with four more on the way.<\/p>\n
Kramer finds this quite wonderful, especially as the people who work in the ICU unit today are so highly qualified.<\/p>\n
“It is all about quantity, scope and quality, and these days this far outreaches the medical world in years gone by,” he said.<\/p>\n
Life Roseacres Clinic was not the first place at which the doctor worked.<\/p>\n
He worked at a number of other hospitals, as well as doctors’ rooms.<\/p>\n
“But I always found Roseacres the best place to work,” he said.<\/p>\n
“It has a special atmosphere.”<\/p>\n
He added that when he walks along the corridors people always greet him, and the corridors are not crowded, as in some hospitals.<\/p>\n
Kramer is currently working in the sessional rooms at the hospital.<\/p>\n
He comes in every day and said: “I will never retire.<\/p>\n
“What will I do at home?<\/p>\n
“This is my life.”<\/p>\n
He did have his own rooms at the hospital, until a car accident six years ago left him severely injured.<\/p>\n
He was off work for a year and then returned to continue with his profession.<\/p>\n
Becoming a doctor was not really Kramer’s choice.<\/p>\n
“My father wanted me to be an architect, but I couldn’t draw, so my mother said not to worry, I would become a doctor, and that’s what happened,” he said.<\/p>\n
Kramer was married to his wife, Jessie, for 50 years before she passed away.<\/p>\n
The couple had four children, namely, Steven, Janet Lazarus, Lesley-Lee Hack and David-Phillip.<\/p>\n
The doctor also has 16 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.<\/p>\n
All his children live overseas, apart from David-Phillip who stays here, and drives his father to work every day.<\/p>\n
“I have been very happy in medicine,” Kramer said.<\/p>\n
“Life Roseacres Clinic has been very good to me and I can’t think of a better place to be.”<\/p>\n