In a sell-out talk on the Hay Festival’s Telegraph stage, Professor Noel Fitzpatrick shared with his audience and interviewer Rosie Boycott his vision for a world with One Medicine. It was the first time he had presented to the Hay Festival audience, but the Hay crowd greeted him with huge rounds of applause.
The question he asked was why medical advances including implants and drugs that he currently delivers for animals in clinical practice are not simultaneously used in human medicine. Referring to a special implant where bone and skin grow into metal, Noel asked why, if we can do it for animals, why can’t we do it for humans?
If I’ve already done it, why don’t you start where I’ve stopped and carry on from there? Right now, the regulations don’t allow us to do that, which I am completely against
Fitzpatrick singled a three-year-old Labrador called Pippa in the front row, then explained that the same diseases and viruses that affect humans also affect animals, including Cancer, MRSA and Ebola, yet research and advances to treat both as equals is not happening.
His talk left the inquisitive audience wondering why vets and doctors aren’t educated in the same way at the same time. After all, what we learn from current clinical practice in animals can ultimately save time and money when it comes to advancements in human medicine, reducing the need for animal models to get drugs and implants to market.
It’s going to take time, I might die before this happens but it will happen, because it has to happen. We can save a life to save a life.
