David Owens

30 years ago today TimTrodd and I opened the doors of the clinic that would become OT&P. Lots of water under that bridge.

Thank you to Tim, to all my colleagues past and present and especially to everyone who has allowed me the privilege of being their doctor.

💯

So much potential

So little imagination

Honestly I get that and I would never judge anyone for the decisions they make

I just love the place warts and all and I am staying

I also live on the beach Spring tide tonight

Agreed Regulation and control is the default position

Such a shame I have worked with some incredible young local athletes who just don’t get the recognition they deserve

So many great potential role models whether rugby, running surfing whatever

Embrace the young and give them opportunities 👍

I love HK and continually battle with people from overseas who think of our stunning city as simply a densely populated housing estate

Where is the imagination in selling this opportunity. HK should be the International Centre for adventure racing

End
bsky.app/profile/drdo...

Last week I was invited to a ceremony at the Hong Kong Sports institute in which various government ministers put forward arguments for HK as a hub for sports and sports medicine.

How does this sit with a tendency to ban sport and reduce opportunities for physical activity for young people?

3/4

Where is the government data?

I spoke to a young surfer who I coached in rugby Over the last 10 years he has rescued 15 people (including two life guards) of whom none were surfers

My hypothesis: Banning surfers will increase the risk to swimmers on Hong Kong beaches

2/4

3 reasons why this policy makes no sense

1) Banning surfing will increase fatalities on HK beaches

2) HK is trying to establish itself as a hub for sports/ sports medicine

3) HK is a stunning location for outdour sports
🧵 1/4

HK's reaction to any perceived or actual safety risk is never to address those risks intelligently, respecting the needs of all, but to outright ban one group altogether, or make it almost impossible for them to continue. Look at TransitJam's battles on behalf of cyclists, for example.

Agreed

We saw this with the HK Covid response. A focus on regulatory control rather than education and failure to recognise that risk can never be eliminated only ever mitigated

All interventions have unintended consequences and potential to do more harm than good

Big Wave Bay. A beautiful Hong Kong beach with great surf at this time of year

Who are the people who sit in committees and propose these regulations. What possible motivations drive them to make these insane laws which inhibit physical activity and damage population health.

Shek O sunrise

The Impact of Wearable Technology on Healthcare by Dr David Owens Explore how wearable technology is transforming healthcare through personalised data, improving diagnostics, and enhancing personal health management.

My first article on the impact of wearable technology👇

I am already seeing patients who have had their diagnosis made or confirmed by smart watch Increasing accuracy and impact will be driven by advances in technology in addition to AI driven algorithms
www.otandp.com/blog/impact-...

AI and Machine Learning: The Evolving Reality of Predictive Healthcare by Dr David Owens Exploring AI's impact on healthcare, focusing on challenges and solutions in data integration, ethics, and regulation for better patient care.

My second article on AI in healthcare 👇

AI will disrupt and accelerate change but ultimately how it is used as a tool will determine maximal impact

IMO it will be in administrative and system based processes that AI will have the greatest early impact
www.otandp.com/blog/ai-and-...

The contrast between the cityscape and the natural beauty of the surrounding mountains is one of the many things I love about Hong Kong

West dogs tooth to Lantau Peak is probably my very favourite Hong Kong hike

All doctors in elite rugby have a duty of care. They must act in the interests of the player. Any doctor who abuses this process to gain a team advantage is not 'pushing the boundaries' they are guilty of serious professional misconduct and can be struck off the medical register

Most concussions are diagnosed with HIA 1 but a smaller number present later HIA 2/3

All HIA and the process of calling HIA are audited and subject to peer review

6n

A player who passes a HIA must report to the 4th official before 12 mins but can not enter the field until exactly 12 mins of real time (not ball in play time)

Any player undergoing a HIA1 will have a further assessment later same day (HIA 2) and 48-72 hours (HIA 3)

5n

Video review looks for criteria 1 & 2 signs. Any criteria 1 signs (eg. loss of consciousness)result in permanent removal no need to complete the HIA

The HIA involves a standardised screen of symptoms, cognitive testing recall balance physical examination & review of the video by both MDD and TD

4n

The MDD must have experience and training in pitch side trauma and HIA and be independent of the teams

A HIA may be called by the referee, MDD, the team doctor (TD) but not the opposition TD

The decision to call a HIA is subject to explicit criteria including multi angle video analysis

3n

In elite rugby an independent match day doctor (MDD) oversees screening for concussion which may or may not be associated with foul play

Foul play is the responsibility of the referee team, the TMO and post match the citing officer. This process is completely independent of the medical process

2n

For anyone interested in head injury assessment (HIA) in elite rugby here is a summary:

Concussion is a brain injury. It is the single greatest time loss injury in elite rugby The HIA process has significantly reduced the incidence of concussed players remaining on the field post injury....

1n

Perhaps the most important lesson of the pandemic:

For epidemic disease, small reductions in transmission have an *exponentially magnified* effect on infections.

For endemic disease, small reductions in transmission are *reduced* to an even smaller effect on infections.

1/

I found Blue Island very powerful

A poet of pain, ecstasy and epiphany, Terence Davies is a colossal loss to British cinema Thank goodness Davies experienced his late-career appreciation – he was a director of high seriousness and singularity and a man of vulnerability and true good humour

There are 2 cities that I truly love

Terence Davies may be less celebrated than John, Paul, George or Ringo but Of Time and the City was a cinematic masterpiece to the city in which I was born

What movie would best celebrate the love that so many of us feel for Hong Kong?