Averil Mansfield

A great read. I am honoured to have worked with such a legend

An amazing journey recounted with modesty and humour. A wonderful read

Delightful, brave, funny, lovely and self-deprecating. Professor Mansfield really has paved the way for others

Dr Fiona Godlee, first female editor-in-chief of The British Medical Journal

This very accessible read... gives an understanding... of how Britain enabled a poor girl from the North with little apparent potential to become an internationally recognised surgical superstar

Bulletin of the Royal College of Surgeons

A breath of fresh air ... Averil Mansfield’s memoir points to a more enlightened future

The Inspiring Story of a Pioneering Female Surgeon

'A great read. I am honoured to have worked with such a legend' David Nott 
'A role model for women' Independent 
'A wonderful read' Julian Fellowes 
'Remarkable' Lauren Laverne 
'Charming' Guardian 
 
We were occasionally expected to travel by ambulance to a serious case and would always have a kit of tools and drugs ready for emergency calls. On one occasion, we were responding to a man who had fallen into the hold of a grain ship and broken his leg. I was expected to go down a pole into the ship to administer analgaesia before he could be rescued. The 'audience' of shipworkers delighted in telling me that there were rats the size of dogs down in the grain. The other problem was that this was the era of the mini skirt, and you can imagine what that meant. Following the incident, I instituted the purchase of some 'Casualty Officers Emergency Dungarees' as an addition to the kit. 
 
Averil Mansfield established herself as a pioneer in every sense of the word when she qualified as a surgeon in the early 1970s. At the time just two per cent of her colleagues were female, and she was often met with surprise, bordering on disbelief and amusement, when telling people what she did. But time and again, Averil proved herself more than capable of the role which had been her greatest dream since the age of eight. After a formidable operating career in Liverpool and London, during which she made many enduring friendships, she went on to became the UK's first ever female professor of surgery. 
 
Life in Her Hands is the remarkable story of a truly trailblazing woman. Averil's account shines light on a medical and societal world that has changed beyond measure, but which - as she shows through her experiences - still has a long way to go for the women finding their place within it.

Life in Her Hands

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Averil Mansfield

Praise for Life in Her Hands

A great read. I am honoured to have worked with such a legend

An amazing journey recounted with modesty and humour. A wonderful read

Delightful, brave, funny, lovely and self-deprecating. Professor Mansfield really has paved the way for others

A great read. I am honoured to have worked with such a legend

An amazing journey recounted with modesty and humour. A wonderful read

Delightful, brave, funny, lovely and self-deprecating. Professor Mansfield really has paved the way for others

A great read. I am honoured to have worked with such a legend

An amazing journey recounted with modesty and humour. A wonderful read

Delightful, brave, funny, lovely and self-deprecating. Professor Mansfield really has paved the way for others

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