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15 March 2013 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


BRUSH WITH DEATH INSPIRES MID-SUMMER MASTERS London golf club owner announces star-studded celebrity golf event to raise money for the hospital which saved his life. Mid-Summer Masters, 21st June 2013, aims to raise £24,000 to pay for an ECMO machine at Papworth Hospital BARNET, NORTH LONDON – May 31st 2012 seemed to be just another Thursday at The Shire London Golf Club, but it ended in a dramatic ambulance journey, and a brush with death for the club’s owner, Tony Menai Davis. And now the Welsh-born golf entrepreneur has announced a celebrity golf day to be held at his golf club on the longest day of the year, to raise funds to buy an ECMO machine – the devic which kept him alive, at Papworth Hospital. Tony Menai Davis contracted double pneumonia in May 2012, and after brief spell in intensive case in The Lister Hospital in Stevenage he was put into an induced coma on the evening of May 31st, and was rushed at Papworth Hospital where he was treated by the ECMO team (What is ECMO? Please see the end of this press release]. His coma lasted three weeks and led to an extended stay in Papworth, the UK’s largest specialist heart & lung hospital. Menai Davis finally re-joined his relieved wife Anne and sons Ceri and Cae at home in late July, with little memory of his ordeal. Tony Menai Davis, whose Shire London is the only golf course in the UK designed by the late Severiano Ballesteros, tells the story in his own words: “I thought it was just man flu, and ignored my wife’s suggestion that I should get it seen to. Little did I know that particular day would end with me on life support in an ambulance, on the way to Papworth. That’s the last thing I remember, for five weeks. “If it weren’t for Papworth’s ECMO service, this would have been an obituary. Even then Anne, my wife, was told that first night that I only had a one in four chance of surviving. But over the next few weeks, the amazing people at Papworth not only saved my life, but they changed it forever. All the staff at Papworth are saints.” “Having this golf day is the least I can do, to say thank you,” he says. “I passionately ask that golfers come to help us raise £24,000, which will buy another of these incredible ECMO machines. You never know, it might be your own life you are saving, by playing in this golf day!” Dr Alain Vuylsteke, Lead Consultant Intensivist at Papworth Hospital, said: “Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) is a potentially life-saving technique used in patients with severe heart or lung failure. As one of the National Centres providing ECMO to the sickest intensive care patients, Papworth Hospital continuously needs new and updated equipment. We are delighted that this golf day is raising money for an additional ECMO machine to allow us to provide the highly specialised service we do.” The all-day Mid-Summer Masters Tournament will take place at The Shire London Golf Club in Barnet, Hertfordshire on June 21st 2013. Teams of four will each be headed by a celebrity from the world of sport or show business, and all entry fees will go towards the £24,000 cost of a new ECMO machine for Papworth Hospital. Starting with a magnificent breakfast, and finishing with a champagne reception, sumptuous dinner, prize giving and charity auction, the Mid-Summer Masters promises to be a truly memorable event. Tony Menai Davis reflects on his experience: “The chef Raymond Blanc once told me: ‘God laughs at those who make long term plans’. It’s only thanks to Papworth’s brilliant staff, and the ECMO machine, that I’m still around to make any plans at all.” The online entry form for the Mid-Summer Masters can be found at: www.theshirelondon.com/mid-summermasters.php You can also enter by contacting Ceri Menai Davis at The Shire London on 020 8441 7649, or by emailing ceri@theshirelondon.com. Ends.


If you’d like more information about this topic, or to schedule an interview, please call or email Andy Hiseman on +44 (0)1226 781000 / andy@hiseman.com

Media Contact:	Andy Hiseman, Hiseman Limited +44 (0)7795 360112, andy@hiseman.com Web: www.hiseman.com


At The Shire London	Ceri Menai Davis, ceri@theshirelondon.com, +44 (0)20 8441 7649 The Shire London, St Albans Rd, Barnet, Herts EN5 4RE, United Kingdom Web: www.theshirelondon.com

CLICK FOR HIGH RESOLUTION IMAGE >>> Tony Menai Davis (middle) with an ECMO machine at Papworth Hospital, with (left) Dr Jas Parmar (Consultant in Transplant) and (right) Dr Alain Vuylsteke (Lead Intensivist)


NOTES FOR EDITORS About The Shire London www.the shirelondon.com The Shire London is a 27-hole facility featuring the only Seve Ballesteros designed golf course in the UK. Its 18-hole Ballesteros Masters Course measures 7,028 yards, with six par 3s, six par 4s and six par 5s. Its 9-hole Ballesteros Challenge Course features a mix of par 3s and 4s, and is the ideal introduction to golf for all ages and abilities. The Shire Academy is one of the leading teaching centres in the south of England, and with the tranquil setting of the golf course, first class conference rooms and a top-rated restaurant, The Shire London is also a well-equipped and popular venue for golf societies, corporate golf days, conferencing and banqueting. About Papworth Hospital www.papworthhospital.nhs.uk Papworth Hospital treats over 23,500 inpatient and day cases and nearly 59,000 outpatients each year from across the UK. It is the largest heart and lung transplant centre, the national centre for pulmonary endarterectomy and a national centre for a range of other specialist services. Since carrying out the UK’s first successful heart transplant in 1979, Papworth has established a reputation for leading edge research and innovation. Papworth Hospital carries out more major heart operations than any other hospital in the UK, currently more than 2,000 per year. With regular scrutiny by robust quality performance monitoring systems the survival rates and outcomes of these operations are among the best in the world. About the ECMO machine ExtraCorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) is a technique which oxygenates blood outside the body. It is used for patients whose heart and lungs cannot function on their own or with conventional ventilation. ECMO is a highly specialised technique, which needs the input of intensive care specialists, cardiothoracic surgeons as well as ECMO-trained nurses and perfusion scientists. Papworth Hospital is one of five hospitals commissioned by the National Specialised Commissioning Team to provide ECMO.