The Flying Doctor

In the latest in her series throughout 2019 profiling inspirational women, KATE HASKELL talks to Dr Lucy Obolensky, GP and Expedition Doctor to Sir David Attenborough

- Kate Haskell

Holding a person’s life in your hands, having the responsibility for their life or death, is not something I aspire to do or could even have the ability for if I wanted to. That’s why I have long held a deep admiration for anyone who works in the medical profession, but in particular doctors.

Our NHS is having a tough time at the moment and GPs often get undeserved bad press. So, it is a delight to highlight a GP who is proving that not all heroes wear capes and occasionally has the well being of one our most loved national treasures in her very capable hands.

Lucy Obolensky, by her own admission, was not the cleverest in her class at school: “I was fascinated by medicine but just wasn’t sure I would be good enough so I had to work quite hard to get into medical school in Bristol.

“Some people cruise through this sort of thing and whilst I was bright, I wasn’t top of the class and suddenly getting to medical school I felt very less than average!”

This certainly didn’t stop her though and it was whilst taking a year out from university that her life took a very interesting path as Lucy shares with me: “I took a trip to Kenya and ended up living with a local nurse; together we set up a clinic for the local community. I absolutely loved it and very soon I knew that this is what I wanted to do; work in a primary healthcare setting in lower economic countries.