Dr Ishaq Abu-Arafeh, Consultant Paediatrician has retired after more than 20 years with NHS Forth Valley.
He first joined as a locum at Stirling Royal Infirmary, travelling down from Aberdeen every weekend and has fond memories of Friday nights in the unit where the first thing the nurses would do when he arrived, was to order a takeaway curry!
In 1995, Ishaq became a permanent member of staff working across Stirling Royal Infirmary and Falkirk and District Royal Infirmary before moving to Forth Valley Royal Hospital. He welcomed the centralisation of services as it meant no more phone calls in the middle of the night telling him to come to the labour ward – the caller hanging up before saying whether it was Falkirk or Stirling labour ward he was to attend!
Fellow Consultant Paediatrician, Dr John Schulga, joked that since they’ve worked together Ishaq has been a ‘big headache’ referring to Ishaq’s well known work with childhood headaches, which saw him establish a child headache clinic in Glasgow and also editing a book on the subject in 2013, helping medics around the world diagnose childhood headache.
Dr Schulga also said: “It’s been a privilege to work with Ishaq over the years. He has made a difference to many children in his time with NHS Forth Valley and will be missed by his patients.”
Colleagues presented Ishaq with a framed picture of Stirling Castle and, fittingly, a cake in the shape of a brain!
