I am a consultant in children’s orthopaedics and traumatology and have worked for 29 years at the San Rafael Hospital in Bogotá. It was in the hospital that I completed part of my academic specialised education and training, and very soon I felt that there was something special in the institution regarding patient care. Patients were treated respectfully, generously, lovingly and responsibly and taken together, this all amounted to hospitality and humanised treatment, which are fundamental values of the Hospitaller Order of Saint John of God. These values have enabled me to develop and grow as a person and as a family, both in the hospital itself and in the external medical environment. It has enabled us to put in place a highly committed working team offering a  highly technical and humanised medical service, and attracting professional recognition.

All these features are practised, learnt, and imitated, and this is what we might call the “Charism of Saint John of God”, a blessing in the provision of our health care services..