Celebrating a golden age

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.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Life Roseacres Clinic (10 of those in its new location).

This year also marks a special occasion for one of the hospital’s doctors.

Dr Sidney Kramer is celebrating his 50th year of work at the hospital.

In fact, he was the first physician to start work at Roseacres, 50 years ago.

The GCN caught up with Dr Kramer on Wednesday, to find out a bit about his work at the hospital.

“Over the years medicine has changed a lot and the things that can be done have also changed a lot,” he said.

“Today there are so many new techniques available, and the quality of work has advanced.

“In those days, when I first started practicing medicine, you took a big risk when doing certain procedures.”

At the old Roseacres there used to be two ICU beds, today there are 10, with four more on the way.

Kramer finds this quite wonderful, especially as the people who work in the ICU unit today are so highly qualified.

“It is all about quantity, scope and quality, and these days this far outreaches the medical world in years gone by,” he said.

Life Roseacres Clinic was not the first place at which the doctor worked.

He worked at a number of other hospitals, as well as doctors’ rooms.

“But I always found Roseacres the best place to work,” he said.

“It has a special atmosphere.”

He added that when he walks along the corridors people always greet him, and the corridors are not crowded, as in some hospitals.

Kramer is currently working in the sessional rooms at the hospital.

He comes in every day and said: “I will never retire.

“What will I do at home?

“This is my life.”

He did have his own rooms at the hospital, until a car accident six years ago left him severely injured.

He was off work for a year and then returned to continue with his profession.

Becoming a doctor was not really Kramer’s choice.

“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.

Kramer was married to his wife, Jessie, for 50 years before she passed away.

The couple had four children, namely, Steven, Janet Lazarus, Lesley-Lee Hack and David-Phillip.

The doctor also has 16 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.

All his children live overseas, apart from David-Phillip who stays here, and drives his father to work every day.

“I have been very happy in medicine,” Kramer said.

“Life Roseacres Clinic has been very good to me and I can’t think of a better place to be.”