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Dr Peter Crean

This the easiest task that I have ever had to perform at the Association of Paediatric Anaesthetists Scien- tific Symposium - finding nice things to say about Peter Crean!

Peter has made outstanding contributions to the Association of Paediatric Anaesthetists and he thoroughly deserves this recognition. He trained in Northern Ireland in Anaesthesia and completed his training and specialisation in Paediatric Anaesthesia at Toronto Hospital for Sick Children where he was an Anaesthesia Fellow for one year and a Neonatal and Paediatric Intensive Care Fellow for a further year. They still remember him fondly in Toronto and Larry Roy has sent me a photo of him looking very youthful indeed. He was appointed as Consultant to Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children in 1984 and has remained there ever since.

Peter has had a large and influential role in the APA. He has been a Council member on and off since 1990, he was the Honorary Secretary between 1996 and 2000. Chaired the Scientific Committee be- tween 1997 and 2000 and, of course, was the Presi- dent between 2005 and 2007. He is now about to leave the Council and his last role as Chair of the Professional Standards Committee. Peter has many outstanding achievements but ones that I, and I sus- pect he, would like to pick out are his leadership of the Peer Review process which is now successfully rolled out throughout the country, and his leadership and support for the transformation of the APA from an elitist and small society of specialist Paediatric

Anaesthetists into its current form as an all- encompassing Society for anyone who has an inter- est in the Anaesthesia care of children. This transi- tion was fundamental in transforming the APA into the successful organisation that it is today and Peter was highly influential in pushing this change forward.

We always think of Peter Crean as a calm head in a crisis, when there is dispute and conflict there is nobody better to come in and take the heat out of the situation, calmly summarise the pertinent issues and get the protagonists to agree a sensible compro- mise. Nevertheless, in an unguarded moment after a dinner he confided in me that he always secretly hankered after a bright red Ducati Monster Motorcy- cle so he clearly also has bit of a wicked side.

And what of the future! Peter has recently been elected to the Council of the European Society of Paediatric Anaesthesia, and I don’t know if William Hill is taking bets on likely future Presidents of that organisation, but if it is, you won’t go far wrong by putting a fiver each-way on the name Peter Crean.

In recognition of these outstanding contributions to the organisation, it therefore gives me great pleasure to propose Peter Crean for Honorary Membership of the Association of Paediatric Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland.