NEWS 7
ausdoc . com . au 6 DECEMBER 2024
NEWS 7
My most memorable day as a doctor ?
This is what happened …
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1985 and 1986 Dr Ian Hargreaves
Retired surgeon , Sydney , NSW
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I ran out into the street , and the immediate first aid was to get the Land Cruiser to reverse off his chest .
Fortunately , a paramedic ambu-
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a cardiothoracic registrar and the patient had an extremely flail chest . We rolled into ED , and I would have felt like George Clooney ( had |
A year later , I was the orthopaedic accredited registrar in the orthopaedic clinic and about to see a patient who had a huge set of paper notes , |
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lance that was leaving the hospi- |
he been on the TV in those days ) as |
resembling Encyclopedia Britannica . |
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tal saw the accident and pulled up |
I asked for two chest tubes , which I |
Glancing in , I suddenly realised |
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IN 1985 , I was a junior cardiothoracic |
within seconds . |
rapidly inserted . |
who he was . |
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registrar at Royal Prince Alfred |
The paramedics had a few goes at |
The team was left to put in can- |
“ I saved your life ,” I said — more |
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Hospital in Sydney . |
intubating him but failed . |
nulae and the rest , and in the rela- |
in surprise than boast but feeling |
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Trudging home after a 12-hour |
With the confidence that comes |
tive calm that comes from having the |
rather chuffed . |
George Clooney . |
day , I was about to jaywalk across the road when a chap jaywalked ahead of me and was run over . |
from being essentially untrained , I got it in first go and said , ‘ Let ’ s scoop and run ,’ having explained that I was |
patient surrounded by competent doctors , I handed him over to the night cardiothoracic registrar . |
“ My knee hurts ,” he replied , and my ego was suddenly suitably chastened . |
Stigma of being an abortion provider lingers
Ciara Seccombe GP Dr Emma Boulton is proud to offer surgical abortions but says “ it is not something I can talk about at dinner parties ”.
“ There are doctors who feel strongly that women should have this service , but also a lot who consider it slightly unpleasant or dirty .”
When Dr Boulton founded her Sydney women ’ s health clinic in 2011 , she wanted to offer affordable abortions for patients who could not cover the cost of a non-GP specialist .
Many patients travel from outside Sydney to see her .
“ It may be decriminalised now , but it is still stigmatised .
“ If complications occur — which
‘ A snitty specialist will turn their nose up like I should not be doing this .’
they inevitably do because it is a surgical procedure — you have to call the hospital and say , ‘ This patient is on their way ; this is what happened .’ “ And you will get a snitty ED or O & G specialist who turns their nose up , like they are saying , ‘ Well , you should not be doing this sort of thing .’”
The judgement from other doctors compounds the psychological load for abortion providers , who often hear patient stories of domestic violence or substance misuse , Dr Boulton says .
For patients , she says the recent news stories of public hospitals in Orange and Queanbeyan , NSW , restricting abortions show it is a postcode lottery .
She suggests more GPs would become abortion providers if more training existed .
“ There is no formal training for GPs . You rely on other respected professionals who have learnt the skills to train you ,” she says .
“ GPs can do an O & G diploma
without learning how to insert an IUD , let alone how to perform a surgical abortion .
“ Yet once you start , it is so rewarding because you can support people at a vulnerable time in their lives .”