Welcome to the first issue of the Charlies Alumni … ALUMNI Newsletter Issue 43, 28 October 2017...

$: Welcome to the first issue of the Charlies Alumni … ALUMNI Newsletter Issue 43, 28 October 2017 Page 1 of 33 c:\users\he21032\appdata\local\microsoft\windows\temporary internet files\content.outlook\ia678vci\can$
CHARLIES ALUMNI Newsletter Issue 43, 28 October 2017 Page 1 of 33

c:\users\he21032\appdata\local\microsoft\windows\temporary internet files\content.outlook\ia678vci\can 2017 10 28.docx

Welcome to the 43rd issue of the Charlies Alumni Newsletter. Unless otherwise indicated, text is by the Editor. For various reasons, I have chopped out some usual sections and transferred them to the issue which will follow this one. Also, information from some recent publications has been deferred.

EVENTS COMING UP

• Wednesday 15 November 3.30 pm: SCGH Quality and Long-Service Awards Ceremony - McCusker Auditorium, Harry Perkins Institute. Always a good chance to meet old friends!

• Thursday 14 December NOON: Our Christmas BBQ – SCGH Social Club. RSVP to Betty.

• Thursday 22 March 2018, 4.30 pm AGM and Oration. Please put the date into your diary now! Sue Morey will be the Orator, and while the title has not been determined, it will probably be influenced by the fact that Sue is Chair of the Board of Westcare (formerly FCB (Federal Cardboard Box) Industries. FCB was set up about 70 years ago to help those recovering from TB to re-enter the workplace. Westcare now has a far broader scope - outlined in the supplement to The West Australian published on 24 October 2017 (I’ll send a copy to the Museum).

CORRECTION Contrary to the report in the previous issue, Jim Robinson has not passed on. Sincere thanks to the several members who reported the error after checking with Jim. Sorry Jim!

RECENT EVENTS

AGM and Oration for 2017 These were on Thursday 23 March. If you attended the AGM, you might have noticed that the Financial Statement distributed was a bit unusual. It later transpired that due to a clerical or communication error, the wrong sheet was copied and distributed at the meeting. The audited 2016 Financial Statement in the customary form, which was intended to be distributed at the AGM, forms the last page of this Newsletter. No auditor was appointed at the meeting – that is being followed up. Elections resulted in Amanda McKnight, Gail Cooksley and Tanya Basile joining the committee. I hope to include a full list with contact details in the next Issue. David Joseph delivered a splendid address which demonstrated beyond doubt that despite great advances in other modes of cancer treatment, radiotherapy (often in conjunction with other therapies) continues to be essential for the best outcomes for almost all cancers.

Tour of Perkins Some of us toured the Harry Perkins Institute on Thursday 27 July at 10.30. Stunning is not an adequate word. Particularly encouraging was seeing the groups of secondary students solving a mystery by logically-designed experimentation.

Dot Wheatley gathering See later as well, but Mavis Matthews and Mary McHugh organised a gathering in the Social Club on 9 October to celebrate Dot’s life and achievements. It was well attended.



Martin Phillips retirement gathering On 27 October at 4pm, a farewell function was held to wish Martin Phillips well in his retirement. Having rather short notice, I hastily cobbled together some email addresses and informed as many members (and others) as I could – and telephoned a selection of the sixteen members without known email addresses.

Asok Kumar retirement dinner Asok retired in June. Notice of a dinner organised in his honour for the evening of 27 October came to me only a few days beforehand, but using the email groups set up for Martin’s event I was able to pass it on quickly.

WE HAVE HEARD FROM (Ed: these enquiries usually result from people discovering us on the internet)

• Darren Wake, PTS 2/85. • Elizabeth Scruth, who trained at SCGH and graduated in 1985. She would like to re connect

with alumni from that time and also join the alumni - Elizabeth Scruth RN PhD MPH FCCM CCNS CCRN, Critical Care/Sepsis Clinical Practice Consultant, Oakland, California. [Ed: I have more contact details of you’d like them]

• Tyler Brannen, who was seeking Jon Mulligan and inter alia asked if Fiona Bowden was still extant (which she is). If anyone has any contact details for Jon Mulligan I’d be delighted to have them.

• a handful of others, mostly enquiring about PTS reunions. I’ll try to include a full list in the next issue. You might have seen that there are frequent reunions of various PTSs of RPH. The few that have been held for PTSs of SCGH have been very successful and I would like more to happen.

FROM MEMBERS to the editor: From : GAYE REEVES (in 2014 – There is no shortage of backlogged material for an aspiring editor) Hi Lindsay Have been chatting with Chris Carroll (who was my relief) and she related this true story to me... we were rolling with laughter - tears streaming !! G52 - student nurse 6 weeks post grad, caring for patient who is dying. She had never experienced a dead patient before. Advice etc given by senior staff etc... Waiting for the family to come in - good 40 min to hospital. CN advises the nurse to "make the patient look comfortable" and explained that it will take time for the family to arrive. Eventually family arrived, upset but diagnosis was always grim. Junior nurse was on meal break so Level 2 nurse was free and showed the family down to the room. Level 2 nurse just peeked around the closed door before entering and saw the patient sitting up in bed, with his glasses on and reading the paper !!!! The student nurse had indeed made him comfortable !! She retained her composure (10/10 !!) and said "I'll be just a minute" and kept the family outside and rearranged the patient without batting an eyelid !! Nurse of the year !!!

FROM OUR MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY Applications have just been received and approved from Beryl Cosgrove, Pamela Keenan, Raylene Morgan, and Janet Paterson, all with nursing backgrounds. With luck you might meet them at the



Christmas BBQ on Thursday 14 Dec. Also another six members who failed to renew their membership promptly have now done so. That makes 111 members, the lowest for some time.

FROM VARIOUS PUBLICATIONS

27 February 2017: Valé Sol (Solomon) Levitt It is with great sadness that we acknowledge the passing of well-known and highly regarded SCGH clinician Mr Sol Levitt on 16 February 2017. See later.

2 March: This morning, staff achievement was celebrated at the first quarter Charlies Excellence in Service Awards. Nominees in the individual category were:

Jane Broadhurst – Senior

Occupational Therapist

Sara Tilley – Nurse Manager, Surgical Division

Sue Morey – Nurse Practitioner, Respiratory Medicine

Dr Timothy Paterson – Intensivist, Intensive Care Unit

Fiona Mirks – Administration Assistant, Home Link

Our winner this quarter was Sue Morey (pictured centre, with Victor Cheng and Paywise representative, Kate Jeffery).

10 March: New NMHS Mental Health Director of Clinical Services I am delighted to confirm the appointment of Dr Viki Pascu to the newly-created NMHS Mental Health (MH) Director of Clinical Services (DCS) position for an initial period of six months – until the end of August 2017.

20 March: NMHS Information Hub is now live on HealthPoint I am pleased to announce the new North Metropolitan Health Service (NMHS) Information Hub is now live. NMHS is the latest health service to join the ‘HealthPoint’ platform for information and knowledge sharing across the state. [Ed: but you can’t get to it from outside the health IT network]

6 April: [Ed: I’ve always wanted to read nineteen eighty-four (sic) and other famous literary works. I do remember that the author of 1984 wanted to call it something else, (Ref https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nineteen_Eighty-Four ), but somehow I missed out. But the next few items make me think I might be in that fictional society, whatever the date on my laptop says. The third item alone runs to about 30 pages. What follows is a mere selection from 6 April…] MP 0046/17 WA Health System Policy Governance Policy

https://nmhs-healthpoint.hdwa.health.wa.gov.au/Pages/default.aspx

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nineteen_Eighty-Four

http://www.health.wa.gov.au/circularsnew/circular.cfm?Circ_ID=13353



Date of issue: 5 April 2017 The purpose of the WA Health System Policy Governance Policy is to provide the WA health system with a standardised, consistent approach to the governance, development, implementation, review and maintenance of policy documents. MP 0048/17 Centralised Intern Application and Allocation Policy Date of issue: 3 April 2017 To ensure fair and timely processing of applications and appointments to intern positions the PMCWA coordinates the centralised intern application process in Western Australia (WA), in collaboration with the Primary Employing Health Services (PEHS) who are accredited to employ and train interns; and with other Australian Postgraduate Medical Councils. This policy is applicable to all Health Service Providers (HSPs) accredited as PEHS and relates to the recruitment of interns into accredited intern positions in WA through the annual centralised intern application process as coordinated by PMCWA. 1 MP 0049/17 Women requesting immersion in water for pain management during labour and/or birth policy Date of issue: 3 April 2017 This policy is to assist, educate and enable midwives and medical practitioners to care safely for healthy pregnant women who choose to use the bath and / or pool during all stages of their labour and birth. The policy is applicable to all relevant Health Service Providers and contracted health entities. Compliance with this policy is also recommended for private and non-government facilities and private practicing midwives. [That was the 30-page one]

13 April: Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital (SCGH) will start using the NaCS (Notifications and Clinical Summaries) system on Monday 29 May 2017, as part of a state-wide rollout. NaCS, an electronic discharge summary system, replaces CGMS and is already in use at Fiona Stanley, Royal Perth and Princess Margaret Hospitals, among others. Each year, Patient Support Services (PSS) acknowledges an outstanding Support Worker with the “Be Like Bernie” Award, established in 2009 in honour of former friend and colleague Bernard “Bernie” Hewitt, who worked as a Hospital Service Assistant on Ward G64 at SCGH from 1999 until his passing in early 2009. The Award recognises Support Workers who demonstrate the same altruistic qualities Bernie displayed. Support Workers are able to nominate a peer, or peers, in accordance with the following criteria:

• Displays the highest standard of team work • Displays the strongest work ethic within the team • Displays a positive approach to their work and life in general • Display warmth, empathy, understanding and sensitivity.

This year, five Support Workers were nominated by their peers for the Award (pictured below, left to right): Beswell Chibi, George Mason (not pictured), Louise Furnell, Kirsty Illot, and Charlene Bate.

1 A few months later another item announced that this system would cover RMOs as well, ie for a doctor’s first three years of hospital practice.






The Award ceremony was held on Tuesday last week, with Support Worker Louise Furnell selected as this year’s worthy winner. Louise was presented with a trophy and her name was added to the “Be Like Bernie” honour board displayed in the PSS offices.

Manager Patient Support Services, Linda Davies (centre) and ME Bank

representative Anne King (right), present the “Be Like Bernie” trophy to Support Worker, Louise Furnell.

18 April Thanks to Mike Rafferty and Sue Morey for this item from UWA News Thursday, 16 March 2017: Health Physicist Lyall Munslow-Davies, whose career at UWA spans well over 40 years, was recently awarded the UWA Chancellor's Medal for his outstanding contribution to the University, and his vision and leadership in medical, research and industrial radiation, legislation and laboratory safety and design. Lyall has spent his life turning his passion into a profession and at 80 years of age, his work history is impressive.

http://www.web.uwa.edu.au/university/history/medal



“I’m very lucky to be able to come to work and do what I love most, I’ve always enjoyed the stimulation and challenges my work has provided. When I started out, radioactive tracer research in Australia was just getting underway and I was in the right place at the right time,” he says. From his early days at Bunbury High School, Lyall was interested in scientific and construction development which was facilitated by his father who taught manual arts, and his physics teacher who later became his mentor. Lyall started work as an electronics technician working on x-ray and electro-medical equipment in Western Australian hospitals and within five years was involved in administering the State's first Radioactive Substances Act. This work included radiotherapy and assisting in the design of industrial, medical and research radiation and radioactive substance facilities. “From this point on my interests began to change. I could see the field was opening up considerably in medicine, research and industry but there was little expertise in Australia. And I knew I wanted to be involved in the whole gamut," he says. So in the mid-60s, Lyall packed up his family and moved to the UK where he obtained his master’s degree from the University of Surrey. Here he was the first person to receive a distinction for his work in radiation protection. Lyall returned to WA and became the qualified expert on radiation and radioactive substances, and co-wrote the Radiation Safety Act 1975, which is still implemented today. With the growing use of radiology, lasers, nuclear medicine and research in the 70s, came the need to set up a dedicated radiation protection service at the QEII Medical Centre. Following world-wide advertising, Lyall won the role and became the specialist at the centre. Although he had been assisting the UWA Radiation Safety Committee from the early 1960s, Lyall transitioned to UWA’s official radiation protection officer in 1978. “The Radiation Protection Office was significant in the development, management, teaching and practical handling techniques of radiation, radioactive substances and lasers for the QEII and UWA campuses. Over three thousand people have successfully passed the unsealed radioactive substances handling course which we have been running since 1978,” he says. Throughout his time at UWA, Lyall has made many outstanding contributions and has been instrumental in laboratory safety, electrical safety, compressed gases safety and the design of more than 20 buildings and facilities at the University. Lyall is still enthused by what he does and shows no signs of slowing down. “Although my job description is about safety, I have always been a research scientist at heart and if I can still impart knowledge and assist others, then I know I’ve done my job.” [Ed: Ken Spillman probably captured all the dates in our book Fifty & Counting: Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital’s First Half-Century ($20 softcover from Betty), but when I started at SCGH in 1970 the Institute of Radiotherapy was in full flight across the road, and if the State X-Ray Laboratories weren’t already just west of the hospital and the nurses quarters, they soon were. Many of its staff had lunch in the SCGH dining room and we got to know them well. The photo on the next page shows (L to R) unknown, Lyall, unknown, and my old schoolmate and friend David Blair (think gravity].



20 April: This week’s Health Happenings (emailed weekly from the Department of Health) contained 21 items – about average. Just what busy staff don’t need. Many items appear repeatedly over the course of a few months.

27 April: Perth Children's Hospital contract practical completion The State Government today granted Practical Completion under the main Perth Children’s Hospital contract.

9 May 2017 Congratulations (among others) to Professor Di Twigg – Dean of the School of Nursing & Midwifery and Research Consultant at SCGH who won the Lifetime Achievement Award.

12 May: We have a number of voluntary groups based at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital (SCGH) providing many valuable services, including:

• The Gairdner Voluntary Group – assisting visitors with wayfinding in the E Block reception, assisting in the Discharge Ward and Breast Clinic, and taking the tea/coffee trolley to the Outpatient Clinics

https://healthpoint.hdwa.health.wa.gov.au/news/Pages/Perth-Childrens-Hospital-contract-practical-completion.aspx



• The Voluntary Transport Service – driving patients to and from hospital to attend appointments

• Buggy Service – run by the Queen Elizabeth II Medical Centre Trust, volunteers drive a buggy around the hospital site delivering patients from the car park to various hospital departments

• The SCGH Auxiliary – operate two shops, a lolly trolley that is taken to the wards, and a library trolley

• Charlies Alumni Archives – assist in the Archive office

• SolarisCare – qualified therapists provide free support, information and complementary integrated therapies to cancer patients and their primary carers.

• Volunteers assisting in the Dialysis Ward

• Volunteers assisting with wayfinding in the G Block main reception

• Volunteers representing the Cancer Council interact with patients in the Cancer Centre and inform them of services and resources available to them.

• Watercolour Society of WA - volunteers paint artworks in the Cancer Centre, providing a welcome distraction for patients who watch on. Art supplies are also

provided for patients who would like to join in and paint their own art piece.

• Chaplaincy and Spiritual Services - Chaplains and pastoral assistants provide support through pastoral care, pastoral counselling, worship and sacraments

Gairdner Voluntary Group volunteers Maureen Wainwright, Ann Jones, and

Margaret White celebrate National Volunteer Week with Betty Whiley

(second from right), Fundraising Manager from the Charlies Foundation for Research.

Farewell Lyn Meyers The Health Information Management Service (HIMS) team recently farewelled Lyn Meyers, who has decided to retire after 27 years of service at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital

The Health

Information Management

Service (HIMS) team: Anna

Catton, Nicola Binks, David

Armstrong, Lyn



Meyers, Yvonne Mannes, Aaron Maynard, Bashar Alnassar, and Jo MacKenzie.

18 May: I am pleased to announce that Mr Robert Toms has been appointed the Chief Executive of Health Support Services. Robert joins Health Support Services from Western Power where, in his role as Executive Manager – Transformation, he designed and led the company’s major Business Transformation Strategy to reduce expenditure while improving customer outcomes, organisational performance, safety, and employee engagement. Dr D J Russell-Weisz, Director General

15 June: CAHS Chief Executive Professor Frank Daly resigned last week to pursue other opportunities outside of the WA health system. Dr Robyn Lawrence, the Chief Executive of the South Metropolitan Health Service (SMHS) will be transferred to CAHS commencing on Monday, 19 June 2017. As she is already a Chief Executive, this is a direct appointment for an initial six-month period. Dr D J Russell-Weisz, Director General

15 June: Inaugural joint research week at QEII Medical Trust2 Save the date for the inaugural joint research week encompassing PCH, SCGH and their related partners at QEII Medical Trust on 16-19 October.

20 June: Today the Minister for Health announced the State Government’s Sustainable Health Review (the Review). The Government has appointed an experienced panel to conduct the Review, chaired by independent expert Ms Robyn Kruk AM. Ms Kruk has over 30 years of experience in public sector innovation at a State and Commonwealth level, including as Director General of NSW Health and inaugural CEO of the National Mental Health Commission. Further information about the Review including its Terms of Reference and the Expressions of Interest for Reference Groups is available on our public website. Dr D J Russell-Weisz, Director General

20 June The newly formed Children’s Hospital Alumni Association WA is now recruiting members. The Alumni will serve to honour those members of staff and volunteers who have contributed to the Princess Margaret Hospital legacy of 108 years of caring for the sick and injured children of Western Australia, and in the future Perth Children’s Hospital staff. All past and present staff and volunteers who have worked at PMH for more than a year are eligible to join. For more information or to join please contact: [email protected]

29 June: [Ed: one of twenty-one items from the weekly Department of Health “Health Happenings”] Procedure Specific Information Sheets 2 Ed: sic.

https://healthpoint.hdwa.health.wa.gov.au/news/Pages/Inaugural-joint-tesearch-week-at-QEII-Medical-Trust.aspx

https://www.mediastatements.wa.gov.au/Pages/McGowan/2017/06/Sustainable-Health-Review-to-position-WA-health-system-for-the-future.aspx

http://ww2.health.wa.gov.au/Improving-WA-Health/Sustainable-health-review

mailto:[email protected]

https://healthpoint.hdwa.health.wa.gov.au/news/Pages/Procedure-Specific-Information-Sheets-(PSIS).aspx



With the transition to DoH information hub, it is important to be aware of the new location of Procedure Specific Information Sheets.

7 July: At the opening event for NAIDOC week, Dr Meredith Arcus, Acting Executive Director Medical Services, and Chair of Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital’s (SCGH) Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) Committee, welcomed those gathered to celebrate the event, while giving a background on the languages that helped better explain the significance of the theme – only 120 of the approximately 250 languages spoken in the eighteenth century are now spoken.

Dr Meredith Arcus, Acting Executive

Director Medical Services, and Chair of SCGH’s RAP Committee, emceed [sic] the

NAIDOC Week opening ceremony.

Welcome Maria Yakimov Please extend a warm welcome to Maria Yakimov who has started in the position of Art Curator. … After familiarising herself with the SCGH Art Collection and attending to some pending tasks, Maria will assess any public areas in need of attention. …As she settles into her role, Maria would like to hear from anybody who would like to share their thoughts, reflections and wishes regarding the Art Collection. Please do not hesitate to contact Maria for any enquiries you may have regarding the Art Collection via email [email protected] or on Ext. 73655.

18 July: Department of Health structural change – Expression of Interest process In late June 2017 I announced to Department of Health staff that the Department will be transitioning to a new contemporary organisational structure which reduces the number of Senior Executive Service (SES) positions and will be in place by late September 2017. Staff across the WA health system can find more information about the structural change on HealthPoint. The majority of SES positions in the structure are new, substantively vacant or have significantly changed. The Department will be recruiting to these positions through an Expression of Interest (EOI) process. Appointments will commence in September and will be for a period of up to six months. This will be followed by a recruitment process, in line with the Public Sector Commission (PSC) Approved Procedure 2: Filling a Public Sector Vacancy, to fill positions on a contract basis. … Applicants will be required to submit a curriculum vitae and a statement, of no more than three pages, addressing the PSC Leadership Capability Profile appropriate to the position. Phase 1 EOIs will open Tuesday 18 July 2017 and close Thursday 27 July 2017.



Phase 2 EOIs will open Wednesday 19 July 2017 and close Friday 28 July 2017. Phase 3 EOIs will open Monday 14 August 2017 and close Wednesday 23 August 2017. The following positions will be subject to an EOI. Other positions may become vacant, and subject to an EOI, during the process. Phase 1 Assistant Director General Clinical Excellence Assistant Director General Purchasing & System Performance Phase 2 Executive Director Clinical Leadership & Reform Executive Director Financial Management Executive Director Governance & System Support Executive Director Information & System Performance Executive Director Strategy, Policy & Planning Executive Director Resourcing & Purchasing Director Office of the Director General Director Strategic Business Support Phase 3 Director Data & Information Director Finance Director Financial Policy & Reform Director Industrial Relations Director Information, Communication & Technology Director Modelling Director Networks Director Performance Management Director Planning Director Policy & Intergovernmental Relations Director Purchasing & Contracting Director Research Director Strategy Director System Governance & Assurance Director System Clinical Support & Innovation Director Workforce & Employment

Dr D J Russell-Weisz, Director General

20 July: WA Adult Gastrointestinal Endoscopy Services (WAGES) Project [Ed: this sounds terribly interesting but I can’t get to it]

21 July: The Short Stay Unit (SSU, which includes the Day Procedure Unit (DPU) and Day of Surgery Admissions (DOSA)) began accepting patients in their new location at E Block, Level 1 on Monday, 17 July. SCGH welcomes Dr Nick Spendier to his role as Acting Medical Co-Director Medical Division, from 3 July 2017 to 10 September 2017. Dr Spendier can be contacted via the DRAC Department.

https://healthpoint.hdwa.health.wa.gov.au/news/Pages/WA-Adult-Gastrointestinal-Endoscopy-Services-(WAGES)-Project.aspx



The SCGH Social Club now has its own website: www.charliessocialclub.com

21 July Sir Charles Gairdner Osborne Park Health Care Group - Executive changes Dr Victor Cheng, Executive Director, Sir Charles Gairdner Osborne Park Health Care Group (SCGOPHCG) has been successful in the Expression of Interest for the position of acting Executive Director Princess Margaret Hospital. Victor will take up the position from Monday 31 July 2017, for an initial period of three months. During this period, Mr Tony Dolan, Executive Director Nursing Services will take on the role of Executive Director, SCGOPHCG.

23 July: [Ed: from the SCGH e-Bulletin - your fortnightly wrap-up of SCGH news. This fortnight the bulletin ran to 18 special items plus the regulars. Printed copies are no longer produced but this

issue would be about 14 pages long for average print settings.]

Showing their support for Purple Bra Day are Julie

Barry, Nurse Director Patient Flow Unit, Dr

Meredith Arcus, A/Deputy Executive

Director Medical Services, Dr

Theresa Marshall, Director Safety Quality and Performance, Jan Honter, Manager of Operations, and Tony Dolan, Executive Director Nursing Services.

Dr Victor Cheng, Executive Director Sir Charles Gairdner Osborne Park Health Care Group and Dr Karen Murphy, Executive Director Medical Services are unleashing their inner hero this Purple Bra Day.

CPS has relocated to Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital. All referrals across North Metropolitan Health Service should be directed to the Charlies' office.

http://www.charliessocialclub.com/



From Tuesday 20 June, fire extinguisher training will be held in the Emergency Management Services training room, A Block, Third Floor, South Wing. Staff can view SCGH Publications indexed in PubMed on the Library Research Pages. Currently there are over 2,582 publications listed from 1987, with one publication from 1972 and the latest published on 16 June 2017.

3 August:

MP 0061/17 Data Reporting Requirements for Episodes of Admitted Palliative Care Date of issue: 2 August 2017 The purpose of this Policy is to advise applicable health services of the requirement to capture and report data on Phase of Care and Resource Utilisation Groups - Activities of Daily Living (RUG-ADL) data for patients admitted to hospital with a care type of Palliative Care. This data is required for classification of palliative care activity to the Australian National - Subacute and Nonacute Patient (AN-SNAP) classification, in turn facilitating premium Commowealth [Ed: sic] funding for this activity under Activity Based Funding (ABF) mechanisms.

4 August: After 38 years of service at SCGH, Mari Noffsinger, Respiratory Scientist in the Pulmonary Physiology and Sleep Medicine department, has recently retired.

7 August 2017

NMHS Board welcomes Professor Rhonda Marriott

16 August: It is my pleasure to announce two appointments from the Expression of Interest (EOI) processes that have closed:

• Ms Angela Kelly was the successful candidate for the position of Assistant Director General Purchasing and System Performance.

• Ms Brooke Fowles was the successful candidate for the position of Director, Office of the Director General.

Their appointments will commence on 26 September 2017 for a period of up to six months. I am also pleased to advise that the Phase 3 EOI process, for Tier 4 senior executive positions, commences today. The positions are advertised on HealthPoint. The process is open to staff across the WA public health system.

http://scgophlibrary.health.wa.gov.au/c.php?g=468296&p=3201327


https://doh-internal.wagov.bigredsky.com/page.php?pageID=215&windowUID=0%20-%20report



Prospective applicants will need to use the ‘job search’ function on the top left of the screen to find a position, a search for ‘Director’ will bring up the full suite of positions. The Phase 3 EOI process includes the following positions:

• Director, Budget Strategy • Director, Data and Information • Director, Finance • Director, Financial Policy and Reform • Director, Industrial Relations • Director, Information, Communications and Technology • Director, Infrastructure • Director, Health Networks • Director, Modelling • Director, Performance Management • Director, Planning • Director, Policy and Intergovernmental Relations • Director, Purchasing and Contracting • Director, Research • Director, Strategy • Director, System Clinical Support and Innovation • Director, System Governance and Assurance • Director, Workforce and Employment.

Dr D J Russell-Weisz, Director General

24 August: Dr Anne Karczub3 has been awarded the Distinguished Service Medal of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RANZCOG). The Director General has approved the rescindment of the WA Health Surgical Safety Checklist.

1 September: The Director General has approved the rescindment of the WA Health Surgical Safety Checklist but it may still be required by your Health Service. Transforming the way we manage our health service through genuine engagement We as a health service recognise the value and importance of genuinely engaging with clinicians, consumers (our patients), carers and community to improve the safety and quality of care we provide from our health service sites. All available staff are invited to attend the official C4 Engagement launch on Wednesday 6 September from 1-2pm at the Harry Perkins Institute. At this event you’ll hear from your colleagues and Health Consumer Council about the importance of engagement and how the Framework, toolkit and brand new training opportunities will make a difference to how you work in your department/unit/ward or office. Read more…

3ex SCGH, if my memory is correct.



Goals of Patient Care pilot at SCGH and OPH Select wards at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital (SCGH) and Osborne Park Hospital (OPH) will be using a new Goals of Patient Care (GoPC) form, as part of a three-month pilot commencing Monday 4 September. SCGH’s Wards G53, G63, and C17, and Ward 4 at OPH will use the GoPC form, which promotes and assists in collaborative decision making between a patient, their family and the treating medical team in the event that the patient’s clinical condition deteriorates. It is anticipated using the GoPC form will improve the process for patients and their families in planning a patient’s end of life care, and take into consideration the patient’s preferences, wishes, needs and values. Gary Geelhoed, Chief Medical Officer, is leading the State-wide project – known as the End of Life Framework – which aims to improve end of life care in the acute hospital setting. After evaluation of the pilot, the form will likely be implemented across SCGH and OPH and will replace the current Do Not Resuscitate form. Further information about the GoPC can be found on ChIPS on Doctors Den, under the ‘Goals of Patient Care’ tab, or by clicking here. The GoPC pilot is a Choosing Wisely Australia initiative which aims to improve the quality of healthcare through considering tests, treatments and procedures where evidence shows they provide little or no benefit, or, in some cases, may lead to harm. Call for volunteers to transport our patients If you’d like to volunteer, contact Sarah Rivette by visiting the Patient Transport Department (located near the E Block entrance to Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital), or contact Sarah directly by calling 6457 6655 or emailing [email protected] .

12 September: QEIIMC Trust is issuing regular Newsletters. Please take a moment to read the February 2017 – September 2017 edition at the link below. http://www.qeiimc.health.wa.gov.au/uploads/60094/ufiles/2017_SEPT_Trust_newsletter_-final_version.pdf [Ed: you can see all issues at http://www.qeiimc.health.wa.gov.au ]

14 September: Appointment of Chief Executive of Child and Adolescent Health Service I am pleased to announce that Dr Robyn Lawrence has been appointed as Chief Executive of Child and Adolescent Health Service (CAHS). Dr D J Russell- Weisz Debbie Karasinski Director General Board Chair, CAHS

19 September: Every Cent Counts initiative Do you have ideas on how we can do things better at Charlies? Are you aware of duplication in systems, or processes that can be streamlined? Or, have you already made an improvement that you think could benefit other parts of our hospital? We want to hear from you about how we can change process, improve our delivery of care, and reduce our costs – without cutting corners on the service we provide.

http://chips.qe2.health.wa.gov.au/DoctorsDen/Resources.html?tab=3#TabbedPanels1


http://www.qeiimc.health.wa.gov.au/uploads/60094/ufiles/2017_SEPT_Trust_newsletter_-final_version.pdf

http://www.qeiimc.health.wa.gov.au/uploads/60094/ufiles/2017_SEPT_Trust_newsletter_-final_version.pdf

http://www.qeiimc.health.wa.gov.au/



Some initiatives and campaigns currently underway include: • a review of outpatient letters printing, with the aim to reduce unnecessary printing, paper

usage, postage costs and staff effort • a push to reduce the financial loss from unreturned Spotless-owned scrub suits • increasing awareness of environmentally friendly behaviours, such as double-side printing to

reduce paper wastage • expanding our recycling programs to reduce the amount of waste we send to land fill, and

reduce our waste disposal bills. Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital features in Healthview Our staff and services were showcased in the September edition of the Department of Health’s Healthview e-magazine. Click on the links to read the stories: If you go to http://ww2.health.wa.gov.au/Reports-and-publications/Healthview you can subscribe to electronic issues. The Telehealth Future State Roadshow is visiting tertiary hospitals in October to tell staff about the future plans for telehealth technology and services. The events are aimed at all medical, nursing and allied health staff who could use the technology to improve services for their patients, giving them information as well as an opportunity for input into future plans. The briefing sessions will be run by the Statewide Telehealth Service (STS) and will provide information on the Telehealth Technology Future State Plan.

This symbol (left) is used at SCGH to identify patients with cognitive impairment. Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital is working to create a more inclusive, nurturing and engaging environment where people with dementia, their families and carers can feel well-supported and less alone.

29 September: • an introduction to Patient Opinion Australia (POA), [Ed: see

https://www.patientopinion.org.au/] an online social media platform for those who wish to share their opinion about a hospital care experience – be it their own, or that of someone they know. NMHS has recently subscribed to POA so that we’re more aware of patients’ experiences in our hospitals and it will be another way for patients, carers and stakeholders to give compliments and feedback. It will not replace our existing SCGH patient complaint and compliments processes.

Truebeam machine reduces treatment duration for cancer patients Earlier this month, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital’s Radiation Oncology department began using a new machine that is expected to significantly improve the way cancer patients receive their radiotherapy and radiosurgery treatments.

http://ww2.health.wa.gov.au/Reports-and-publications/Healthview

https://www.patientopinion.org.au/

https://www.patientopinion.org.au/



The $3 million Varian Truebeam linear accelerator machine is the first of three machines purchased for use in the Cancer Centre and has a number of advanced automation features that reduce the time taken to administer treatments, thus reducing the time a patient needs to spend in the treatment room. The Truebeam is able to quickly reposition itself to deliver treatment beams in rapid succession, and with greater accuracy than other units currently in use. Patient safety is not compromised with the increased speed of operation, with safety features in place to detect if the patient is too close to the machine, or if the machine is too close to the treatment couch. Radiation Oncology’s Treatment Supervisor Jill van Duuren and Radiation Therapists Catherine Hubie and Helen Lloyd attended training in Las Vegas to become familiar with operating the Truebeam, and are now in the process of training their colleagues to operate the machine and effectively use all of the new options for imaging and treatment. From Monday 2 October 2017, the Truebeam will be fully operational and treating around 45 patients per day. That same day, work will commence to install the second Truebeam machine. A familiar Charlie’s face honoured in WA portrait prize

A portrait of Professor David Joseph has been selected as one of forty finalists in the prestigious Black Swan Prize for Portraiture and will soon be on display in the Art Gallery of Western Australia. Artist Alan Green (pictured left, with Prof David Joseph), was inspired to paint Prof Joseph’s portrait after receiving excellent care at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital’s Cancer Centre.

“In 2010 I was diagnosed with a serious health issue. I was advised to meet with Oncologist, Professor David Joseph, who specialised in my health issue,” said Alan. “I was especially impressed at how generous he was with his time to explain everything in detail and with kindness, as he was aware of where I was heading.” The forty finalists will be exhibited in the Art Gallery of Western Australia from 1–27 November 2017 and winners will be announced on 10 November 2017. Now in its eleventh year, the Black Swan Prize for Portraiture is the third richest prize in Australia after the Archibald and the Doug Moran competitions.



4 October:

Sincere thanks and best wishes to Dr Gervase Chaney, who has left the role of PCH Executive Director (Commissioning) to become the University of Notre Dame’s Dean of Medicine. Dr Chaney’s vision and leadership with the PCH Project are just some of the significant contributions he has made to the Child and Adolescent Health Service (CAHS), which he has served for the majority of his medical career. “On behalf of the PCH Project team and all of Gervase’s colleagues and friends at CAHS, we thank him and wish him the very best at Notre Dame,” CAHS Chief Executive Robyn Lawrence said. “We also congratulate Debbie Chiffings on being appointed Executive Director, PCH Commissioning after leading the Operational Readiness team for more than two years.”

7 October from the Subiaco POST: • the redesign of Hospital Avenue and the space occupied by F Block is on hold indefinitely. • Hollywood Private Hospital has installed an ORCA (Organic Refuse Conversion Alternative)

Waste Management System in its kitchen. It can digest half a tonne of food waste every day, allowing a reduction in material sent to landfill from 26 bins a day to 5 or 6.

13 October: NMHS staff will soon benefit from a brand new PathWest Laboratory Information System (LIS). The one new LIS will replace the existing four systems. Congratulations to our SCGH and NMHS leaders awarded Fellowship status by peak professional body for health managers There were smiles all around when three of our senior leaders found out they would be awarded Fellowship status with the Australasian College of Health Service Management (ACHSM) after enduring an intense one-hour oral examination that assessed everything they had learned during the Fellowship study program. SCGH’s Medical Co-Director, Medical Specialities Division, and Head of Haematology Dr David Joske, Manager of Operations Jan Honter, and NMHS’s Manager Systems and Technology Thomas Tuchyna are proud of their professional achievement and are applying their understanding of health leadership, systems and policy in their roles to initiate improvements in our health service.



Congratulations to Jan Honter, Dr David Joske and Thomas Tuchyna who were

recently awarded Fellowship status of the Australasian College of Health Service Management (ACHSM).

19 October: Transitioning to the New National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards The New National Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS) Standards (second edition) have been endorsed by health ministers and will be launched in November.

FROM THE EDITOR Contributions are always welcome, subject to editing. Either:

• email me: [email protected] mailto:[email protected] • write to me: Dr Lindsay Stewart, 111 Boas Avenue, JOONDALUP WA 6027 • telephone me: (08) 9301 4432 or 04 5836 1132.

VALÉ Sol Levitt

[by Sol’s son, Michael Levitt]

Sol Levitt, the first General Surgeon appointed4 to Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital (SCGH) after its commencement as a General Hospital in 1958, died on February 16, 2017 two months short of his 90th birthday. Until his retirement from SCGH in 1992, he had led its Colorectal Surgical Service with distinction for over 30 years. He was one of a handful of Australian Colorectal Surgeons at the forefront of establishing the craft group in this country and he served on the committees of the RACS Section of Colon and Rectal Surgery and the Colorectal Surgical Society of Australasia. He was a graduate of the University of Adelaide Medical School, one of six entrants into the Adelaide University course reserved for applicants from Perth. He returned to Perth in 1950, upon graduation, and promptly began his pursuit of a career in surgery, leaving for the 4 See page 47 of Fifty & Counting: Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital’s First Half-Century

https://healthpoint.hdwa.health.wa.gov.au/news/Pages/Transitioning-to-the-New-National-Safety-and-Quality-Health-Service-Standards.aspx





United Kingdom in 1954 where he sat and passed both the Edinburgh and English Fellowship Examinations. He worked as a surgical registrar at the Essex County Hospital in Colchester for 12 months before securing the prestigious RSO post at St Mark's Hospital for colorectal diseases (City Road, London) generally reserved for an overseas graduate.

He was highly regarded at St Mark's and was asked to complete a second term. It was during this period of time that he developed a career-long interest in Familial Adenomatous Polyposis, later establishing Australia's first FAP Registry in Perth. He was also instrumental in creating the first ever position for a specialist Stoma Therapist in Perth and served as patron of the WA Stoma Therapy Association for decades. He was an outstanding clinician and became mentor and inspiration to numerous young Perth surgeons.

Beyond clinical medicine, Sol was Chairman of the SCGH medical Advisory Committee, a member of the SCGH Board of Management (1984-5), as well as an esteemed member of the Medical Board of WA from 1986 to 1995. He played a pivotal role in the Medical Defence Association of WA (now, MDA National) from 1979; he remained on MDAN's management committee for over 20 years until 2003, having previously retired from all clinical practice in 1996.

Outside of medicine, Sol pursued and excelled in many different areas, from within Jewish communal life to beef cattle breeding. But SCGH was his first and greatest source of pride. He was widely admired by his peers for his impeccable technical skills and clinical judgement, and his gentle, respectful and humble manner which inspired confidence in those around him.

In his later years, sadly, he was afflicted by a slowly progressive form of dementia which gradually robbed him of his cognitive skills and, later, his mobility. He died peacefully, in the presence of family. He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Jeanette, three sons all still in active medical practice, their wives, nine grandchildren and one great-granddaughter. He lived a full life characterised by love for his family and in the service of his community.

Ed: I have many fond memories of Sol, and none of any other sort. When I was a student he attended the weekly medical grand rounds at SCGH, contributing both medical and surgical knowledge in equal measures, tempered by considerable wisdom. In 1970 my Dad had to have some bowel surgery. I was on duty in the Casualty Department at Royal Perth Hospital – my very first job as a doctor – when Sol appeared in the doctors’ office and told me the surgery had gone well, and spent time calmly explaining everything. I had no idea that he even knew I existed. It set an example which I aspired to follow. Some years after I moved to Medical Administration in 1984, I had to make some change in the system – I think it was changing from 4 RMO terms each year to 5. I wandered down to the office of Bob MacLatchy, and by chance Sol was there. At that time he was the chairman of the Surgical Service Executive. He listened while I explained the change (which was not optional) and he agreed that he would take the matter to the next meeting of the SSE. I asked if there was likely to be a problem. Well, Lindsay, he said to me smiling softly, they’re a strange lot…The change was accepted.



Marion Haddy (1946 - 2017) Mavis Matthews

Marion died peacefully in her sleep on 7th February 2017. Deepest sympathy is extended from all Marion’s past colleagues at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital to her family and friends. Initially Marion was the first ward clerk to be employed at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital (Charlies) but she was only interested in this position until she became old enough to commence her nursing training. This she did at Charlies in 1965 and apart from time out for further nursing studies she nursed continuously at this hospital until her retirement in 2002. One cannot speak too highly of Marion’s commitment to best patient care. She personified the verb “to care” to be an action verb. She will always be remembered by both patients and colleagues for her thoughtfulness, kindness, enthusiasm, ever-ready smile and professionalism. As a result of her highly intelligent devotion to best nursing practice Marion progressed through several levels of seniority. She was rewarded for the above outstanding nursing attributes by being awarded the Premier Service Award when she was an Area Manager for wards G71-G72 in 1990. Although it is now 15 years since Marion’s retirement numerous present day (and past) staff members well remember her with respect and love. The numerous accolades spoken at her funeral attest to the fact that Marion will always be remembered as a beautiful person. It was more than fifty years ago when I first met Marion. She was a junior Student Nurse and I was a Ward Sister (as we were then called). One morning my ward was experiencing a busy time and as a result Marion was sent to me to help the situation.



She arrived at my office and introduced herself thus: “Good morning Sister Matthews. I am Nurse Haddy and have been asked to come to your ward to help out whilst it is busy. I wish for you to write me a list of tasks that I can achieve. I do not wish to be sent out into the ward and be told to just help out where needed”. I was not expecting any extra staff so was taken by surprise and certainly did not have any list of duties ready for the extra help. So, Nurse Haddy and I sat together and determined that which she was able to achieve in line with her level of experience. I believe she guided me and I learned much that morning! Her politeness, clear thinking, enthusiasm, ability and, most of all, her kindness to those patients with whom she made contact proved to be the hallmark of the nurse Marion Haddy. Marion and I crossed paths on numerous occasions following that morning when this young nurse Haddy demonstrated so much potential. It was, with not-unexpected great pleasure, that I witnessed Marion progress to numerous senior nursing roles and appointments during her long nursing career at Charlies. I am privileged to have respectfully known such a nice person. [Ed: When I was an RMO, Marion was known among the RMOs and Registrars as someone with whom you did not mess. If she said a patient was sick and needed your attention, you could be 100% certain that she was correct. And don’t take too long to get there. If only all had been as good as her.]

Dorothy (Dot) Flora Wheatley 12th August 1928….16th July 2017 Head: School of Nursing; Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital 1970-1988.

Compiled by Mavis Matthews with much appreciated help from Dorothy’s relatives,

friends, Charlies past nursing students and colleagues. August 2017 Dorothy Wheatley was born in 1928 in Sydney NSW. Due to her mother’s long term illness with tuberculosis Dorothy had an unsettled childhood and schooling. Her mother died when Dorothy was only eleven years of age. She left school early and gained employment in various factories before deciding to become a nurse. She said she felt the need to have an occupation and education that would allow her to break free from what she believed to be an unsatisfactory situation. Also, nursing would give her a secure “home”. In spite of her disrupted schooling Dorothy successfully passed the Nurse’s Entrance Examination and commenced her training at Balmain Hospital at the age of eighteen. This was the start of a long nursing career in which she enjoyed many achievements. During her four years’ training Dorothy recognised that conditions for nurses left much to be desired and she wished to do something to improve the situation. She approached the NSW Nurses Association for advice regarding any action that the hospital could take against her if she became the spokesperson for the nurses at her hospital. The organiser who was sent to discuss this matter with her was a young Olive Anstey who was employed by the NSW Nurses Association. Olive Anstey said the worst that nursing administration could do, would most likely be to give her long stretches of night duty. This did not deter Dorothy from her determination to help the downtrodden nurses and to subsequently promote The Nursing Profession. She became the Nurses Union Representative for Balmain Hospital. For this “brazen” act Dorothy was placed on rotating 8 weeks blocks of night and day duty for the remainder of her training. This initial meeting with Olive Anstey was the commencement of a great personal and professional friendship whereby they both fought for better recognition of Nursing as a Profession.



Following completion of her initial training Dorothy then completed her Midwifery and Geriatric Nursing Certificates. Her next steps were to make applications for Infant Welfare in New Zealand and to join the Army. She was accepted by both but chose the army as a means to furthering her education and professional interests. Dorothy entered the Royal Nursing Army Corps as a lieutenant as was the case for registered nurses. During her ten years of service she rose to the level of Captain and was the first female Adjunct Quartermaster. Whilst Dorothy was in the army she was sent to participate in a MASH unit during the Korean War. This included two years spent between Korea and the Occupation Forces in Japan. Also, during her ten years in the army she attended the College of Nursing Australia where she completed the Nurse Teacher’s Diploma. Dorothy remained involved with the College and towards the end of her army career she again crossed the path of Olive Anstey who by this time was the Director of Nursing at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Perth, Western Australia. Olive was undertaking a refresher course for Graduates at the College. Dorothy was deciding whether to stay in the army or look for another challenge in her career. Her decision was made when Olive offered her a senior position in the School of Nursing at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Perth. Not an easy decision as it would mean leaving her beloved Sydney and move to far distant Perth in Western Australia. In 1963 the Perth Chest Hospital was renamed Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital (SCGH) (affectionately “Charlies”) after it ceased to be a hospital for mainly tuberculosis patients and became a general hospital. At this same time the hospital’s School of Nursing brought the tuberculosis nursing training course to a close and commenced an expanded training course for general registered nurses. This new nursing programme required extra teaching staff. Dorothy was appointed Deputy Head of the School with John Brett continuing as the Head. Dorothy held this administrative/teaching position for five years and then became Acting Head of the School (1968) when John Brett took two years leave of absence to take a temporary position in the army. However John decided not to return to the School and Dorothy was appointed Head of the School in 1970. She remained in this position until her retirement in 1988 - the year of the final graduation for Hospital Trained Nurses. During her time at SCGH Dorothy continued with her own studies, whilst at the same time, she actively maintained her interest in promoting the nursing profession. She completed the Diploma of Nursing Administration in Sydney at the then College of Paramedical Studies in 1974 and in 1981 gained her Bachelor of Applied Science (Nursing) at Curtin University WA. Dorothy’s work for Nurses and Nursing was achieved through being actively engaged with the WA branch of The Royal Australian Nursing Federation (RANF) (now ANF) and the Federal Union, where she was a Council Member. At RANF Federal level Dorothy was voted into the position of Federal Treasurer and later became Federal President. The position of National President of RANF meant that Dorothy was required to attend meetings and conferences throughout Australia and internationally. This afforded her the wonderful opportunity to meet many people of renown including British royalty. With a large group of like-minded nurses Dorothy worked tirelessly in moving Nursing from hospital based training schools into the university system. This was a great achievement and came to fruition just prior to Dorothy’s retirement. What of Dorothy’s personality and leadership attributes? The following comments made by some past students and staff demonstrate how well she was respected and also thought of with great fondness:

• “always exuded confidence and enthusiasm in any activity undertaken”.



• “wonderful mentor; inspirational leader”. • “gave staff confidence in their own abilities”. • “always supportive of her staff in public even if she needed to have “a word on the side”

regarding the perceived “conflict” ”. • “extremely intelligent with a

unique method of sharing her knowledge and experiences; was known to use colourful language but, as a humorous shock tactic rather than aggressively”.

• “great sense of humour” • “compassionate; she was

always first to offer assistance of any kind when any of her staff or students were experiencing a difficulty”.

• “down to earth +++”. • “authoritarian, to a degree,

but allowed staff to use their own initiative and teaching style providing the expected high standard of results were maintained”.

• “promoted fund raising activities; she was extremely good at persuading all and sundry to make contributions, whatever the cause”.

• “ provided a positive and forward thinking work environment; all staff encouraged to provide input to new ideas with no challenge too great for consideration”.

• “Dorothy was firm but fair, very approachable, and demonstrated great decision making skills whilst at the same time guiding and promoting the development of both staff and students”. These above comments give proof to great leadership skills which enabled Dorothy to introduce many improvements to the curriculum and, in turn, indeed to nursing provision. Some of these positive changes

included teaching by principles, planning and evaluating lessons by using objectives and relating theory lessons to practical situations. Also, an important innovation during Dorothy’s term as Head of the School was the introduction of Nurse Educators being the teachers of Nursing, thus relieving medical doctors from this role. This gave Nurse Educators a much increased job satisfaction. Dorothy always planned to retire back to her home-town of Sydney and this she did by catching the train from Perth on the very day that she said Good-bye to “Charlies”. There was a huge entourage to



“see her off” which demonstrated perfectly how well she was respected and loved by her friends and colleagues. During the first few years of her retirement Dorothy enjoyed doing those things that she loved most - reading, listening to music, going to the movies and theatre, dining out, watching TV, videos and later DVDs. She loved to meet with friends and old colleagues, her sharp mind keeping them all “on their toes”! Dorothy also did a little travelling, mainly to catch up with her large family of brothers, sister and their offspring. Unfortunately, only eight years after her retirement, Dorothy, at the age of 69 years, suffered a cerebral stroke which left her with a left-sided deficit. Fortunately, due to much energetic physiotherapy, Dorothy was able to continue living happily at her home in Bexley for several years. However, the weaknesses did become more pronounced over subsequent years. In 2011 this increasing frailty took its toll and, following a fall and illness, it was necessary for Dorothy to be hospitalised. Dorothy never became well enough to return home necessitating placement with Aged Care at Alloa Nursing Home in Arncliffe. During her six years at Alloa Dorothy managed to keep the staff “on the hop” but ... she was much loved and spoilt by this same staff. Another tribute to this great personality is the fact that Dorothy never lacked visitors and actually had visits from friends and family almost every day during her entire time there. Dorothy had the well-deserved love and respect of everyone who knew her. Dorothy finally succumbed to this long illness and died peacefully on the 16th July 2017.

Ernst Gerhard Ibach 14 May 1931 - 10 September 2017

[Ed: My brother Don was a cardiac anaesthetist at RPH. We met for lunch about a week after Gerhard’s death was announced in the West Australian. We were both amazed, in view of his standing in Perth, that there had not been more notices.

Don’s best memory of Gerhard was formed during Don’s final oral surgical exam for the MBBS. The then Professor of Surgery was the examiner, with Gerhard sitting in as observer so he could “learn the ropes” of oral exams. Fortunately Don can’t remember who the Professor was, but it certainly wasn’t Bernard Catchpole – much earlier than that.

In the course of the oral exam the Professor asked Don a question about some orthopaedic issue. Don gave the best answer he could, and was somewhat dismayed when the Professor told him that his answer had been incorrect, and proceeded to tell him “the truth”. In due course the exam finished, and Don left feeling somewhat dispirited. He was surprised when Gerhard followed him out, caught up with him and told Don that Don’s answer had been correct, and the Professor had been wrong.

Gerhard then went to great lengths to assure Don that he would inform the Professor of the facts, and ensure that Don was not penalised for the ignorance of the Professor!

That little anecdote fits with everything I remember about Gerhard. He was so kind, and such a thoroughly decent chap. No wonder all the nurses liked working with him. I rarely saw him without a twinkle in his eye and a little smile, and cannot recall ever seeing him angry or flustered (something I wish I could say about all the surgeons I came across).

I am indebted to Gerhard’s widow Eva for the following photo, the poem by his granddaughter Hilde and the funeral eulogy by Gerhard’s doctor son Martin (into which I have inserted some dates).



Hilde's poem: Opa Gerhard is my Opa, he's in heaven right now But i hope that you will tell him about my silly singing song opa gerhard is a fisherman who's born to fish everywhere i hope he doesn't get a fish hook in his hair opa gerhard is so fun, he's a kind of cheeky one opa gerhard is so kind, he gives us smarties all the time opa gerhard has 2 dogs, hey follow him everywhere with that funny man my opa ,singing in the air! Martin’s eulogy: Firstly hello and thanks to everyone for attending this memorial service for my Dad Gerhard Ibach. We are here to acknowledge the life of my Dad and remember him for his humour, his generosity, his intellect, his dedication to his profession, his loyalty to his friends and his love of his family - albeit not overtly expressed much of the time! I am and always have been very proud to have been his son. But we share a weakness - neither myself, my father nor his father before him -have been great communicators - especially when it comes to love and affection. But that doesn’t mean we don’t feel it very deeply in our hearts… and hopefully I can share some of his heart with you today. His life had some turbulent and difficult times which went towards shaping him into the person he became. Born in Freiberg south-eastern Germany, he was only 3 when his mother Liselotte died of TB aged 29. Even more sadly, his father had been away in South Africa working during the last year of her life and was not there to support him at the time of his mother’s death, nor for the next 2 years. He was lovingly cared for briefly by his mother’s father, his Opa, then by Tante Ursel, grandmother of Ulf and Michaela - who came to his rescue and cared for him for a further 2 years. Their family we can only be forever grateful to, and happily Dad and Eva visited Tante Ursel in 1992, three years after Ulf managed to re connect our families together again. So at the age 6, he was sent, by ship, to South Africa to meet his father and his new to-be-mother Else or Mutti as she is known - who went on to care and love for him as if he was her own. His father he would refer to as uncle for quite some time. The following year his brother Harald or Hali was born , but soon the world turned to War. As his father was a German national they had to return to Germany in 1939 to avoid internment in South Africa, and so it was to Harzburg, then later Mahrish-Ostrau in the Czechoslovakia - where his sister Renate was born. During that tumultuous time of WWII, Mutti continued to hold the family together and care for her three children, leaving Czechoslovakia for Germany again, catching the last trains out ahead of the approaching Russian front.. His father, injured in the first world war, was involved I believe in steel manufacturing (perhaps weapons) - and went missing towards the end of the war, and was thought dead for at least 18 months



before he reappeared. During these times Dad, like all German boys, was taken up in the Hitler Youth, where he became a drummer, and had he been a year older he would have been conscripted. Mutti, the rock and heart and soul and life of the family, kept her children from harm and maintained her sense of humour throughout - a feature she would pass on to her son, if perhaps not as much as to Hali who retains the crown for our family’s sense of humour - and who hopefully is listening in. I have to say I never inherited Dad’s ability to retain and tell jokes, but I always loved hearing them, no matter how many times they were repeated by either him or Hali! So to 1948 the post war years and at age 16, Dad returned to South Africa with his Mutti and Renate and Hans. But his father had to remain in Germany for a further few years, yet another long spell where he was to be absent from his sons life. He entered his final 2 years of high school, studying in a foreign language, in a small living room amongst the family, and he matriculated and gained a bursary for entry into medicine. Really quite an achievement and a sign of his dedication and concentration. Now you may wonder how his history can be recounted. It is because he has kept a diary, in card format as was his way, with one page for each year’s personal and family events, and the opposing page with world events. I’ve learnt a lot about his history and the world’s history reading thru this in the last few days! But of those University days I don’t know too much. He had stories he would love to tell of how he would maximise his tips as a waiter. One was bringing the drinks and the change back together, having ensured the coins were on the tray and had been moistened with beer, ensuring that due to surface tension the guest would have so much difficulty retrieving the coins he would get embarrassed in front of his date and end by telling Gerhard to keep the change. He never talked of his girlfriends although some, more than several, girl’s first names do appear thru his diary. So back to his story - the next chapter in his life from 1960 to 1963. Spent in the UK, this time shaped his future to come. He progressed his surgical career, he met my mother Hanne who was working as a physiotherapist at the Hammersmith and later married in Copenhagen. The Berlin wall was erected and President Kennedy committed the US to landing man on the moon. Whilst still in London and whilst considering a job in Liverpool, his good friend Don Gutteridge knew of a job coming up in Perth and introduced him to the superintendent of RPH, Noel Dougan, who happened to be in London at the time. Despite him not liking South Africans, Noel was wooed by my dad’s schnapps and my mum’s Danish cooking and he was given the job in Perth. Then, in June 1963, my brother Hans Peter was born. But that happy time was to turn to tragedy when HP died on the way to Copenhagen where he was to be christened. And, as he had not yet been christened, he was buried without ceremony in northern Germany, and unfortunately his memory was buried with him, and I only found out in later childhood that I had a brother. But that was in a different time when things were dealt with differently. A tragedy for everyone. And so it was to Australia in early ’64 they headed, with me being born later that year. Dad had a job as lecturer in surgery and registrar at RPH, and by 1969, when Armstrong and Aldrin walked on the moon, he was a practising Vascular Surgeon at RPH and SCGH, providing a seamless non-remunerated 1 in 2 on-call roster for the whole of Perth - together with Bob Paton. Bob provided rooms free of charge for Dad until he was established. Once he had set up his own private rooms



he continued the tradition of providing a room free to a younger colleague until he got established. His first secretary Cheryl is here today. Through the ’70s he would travel with family, and take us twice to South Africa, he would join Lake Karrinyup Country Club where he would spend every Wednesday with his new group of mates, breaking every rule in the club’s book, and holing two hole-in-ones. He would start his love affair with the Australian bush and four-wheel driving to the Kimberley and the centre - all strong beautiful memories for me, and memories that no doubt impacted greatly on me and my later love for the outdoors. During those years he taught me a lot. He taught me to ride a bike, play table tennis, play tennis (and we played regularly until I beat him one day), to play golf, ish, pull prawn nets, scoop crabs, drive a car, shoot a 0.22 rifle at dead beer cans in the bush, to camp and to cook on an open fire, and always -the stars and constellations. The ’80s brought more changes. He separated from my mother, our beloved great dane Leo died, he met Eva and forged a new family and love with her and Tina and Willem who was based in Germany. Eva and Dad married in their home in Karrinyup in December ’83 - a beautiful and strong bond that would last the next 34 years. He would try and rename himself Gerald - or Gerry -.to sound more Australian. but that didn’t work. He would start his love affair with Warroora or Warra, where he and Eva, Tina and other family would regularly drive the 1300 km to camp on the beach, eat freshly caught fish - or jarred herrings and caviar - always washed down with some Houghton’s white burgundy. Then, in late 1987 as a present to me for completing my medical degree, He flew the two of us to Cape Town. But sadly, some would say mysteriously, his Father Richard died between the time we took off from Perth and the time we landed in South Africa. Our holiday and bonding opportunity became a funeral organisation. This like all events was recorded in his diary- would not have any associated comment - just the cross next to a name and the date. But there would be many entries other than those commemorating deaths - there would be dates of get-togethers with friends, 4WD adventure dates recorded such as those with Volker and Katy, golfing parties, crabbing and prawning dates, notes on his beloved dogs - even down to one about stepping in Jessies’s “Bumpies” as he loved calling it, and, always, a record of mine and Tina’s exploits. Our partners always scored a mention, but were never commented on. TINA NOT HOME in capital letters would be a rare entry that would signify what Tina had to endure in her adolescent and teenage years. He loved Tina greatly but he just couldn’t temper his strictness on Tina nor his dislike for her boyfriends. Something we could never get him to ease up on, and something that would certainly impact on their relationship through that period of Tina’s life. His 1989 diary entry would be a typical example of what he recorded, including his mother’s visit to Australia, Ulf arriving and reconnecting our family to his who looked after him when between others, his Jayco camper, their 7th Warra trip, Maelies’ 50th, Marie and Don’s wedding, Willems visit, me bungee jumping in NZ, the Berlin wall coming down - and even Tinas ears getting pierced! Every pet was mentioned including when they had surgery, even when Chocy the cat was on heat! Every memorable dinner - especially Xmas and what was eaten - has been documented. Every wedding, Every pregnancy, Every major health event of family members, Every time we returned from overseas it would be documented - with relief perhaps, sometimes with an exclamation mark but never more - and never any judgment given. But one senses the love he had for family and friends by



the interest he had in what we were all up to, and by the almost palpable sense of relief when we were home safely. But interestingly in his diary there is no mention of work or of Vascular Surgery. This he kept separate to family and friends. There is also no mention of money. No shares or stock trades or financial wins or woes. And we know he didn’t keep records of these anywhere else. For he was never financially motivated. He lived well but not extravagantly, he travelled widely with family and he was generous, but finances were never his forté. He taught me as a medical student - as he did most of my generation - and taught the art of medicine. How to examine the peripheral vascular system in his own didactic but clear concise way. And what we learn these days from expensive tests really adds very little to what we could deduce from his hands on methods. He was a dedicated and extremely well respected Vascular Surgeon, respected for his skill but also his Humanity , and respected throughout medical circles by doctors and nurses alike, but most of all by his patients. I continually bump into old patients of his who forever speak highly of him. Just a few weeks ago I met a lady in hospital who had been operated on by Dad and she asked me to pass on her best wishes to him, having saved her leg 30 years previously from an embolic event with loss of blood supply to her limb. But there was one work story he would enjoy telling. Working late into the night on a ruptured Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm - usually a 6-hour operation with high mortality risk - and whilst working away with his incredible focus and concentration and energy that he could muster when called upon, with many assistants coming and going as they turned weak at the knees, when once a critical moment had passed he turned to the assistant next to him and asked him what his name was - to which the assistant replied “Martin”. “Martin who?” he asked. “Its me, Dad”, I replied! Then in 1999, in Red Capital letters in his diary, with an exclamation mark, Retirement 1/11/99 “Hurray!” written alongside. Perhaps he felt the joy then of retirement but unfortunately it wouldn’t last and we all know that he really he fell in a hole in the ensuing years, one which he would never get out of. But he would continue to dream of vascular surgery - literally every night, well past retirement. His health deteriorated and he suffered a stroke this time last year - I must say how proud I was of how hard he worked to overcome the setback, and how he got to the stage of walking again - before being struck down by the second stroke ending all hope of independence. Through this difficult last 12 months Eva has remained strong and has been an incredible support for my Dad and her love for him has known no bounds. On the bright side, we had time to spend together and once a fortnight we would have lunch and I would bring German rye bread, smoked meats, cheeses and wine - and he actually opened up to me on occasions, at times about some of those South African encounters... and others... only to end by regaining some sobriety and saying “I don’t know why I’m telling you all these things?!” So these were special times for me, and perhaps the only times when we both actually opened up a bit more and bared some more of our hearts to each other. I told him many times that I loved him - something I hadn’t done previously, and he even told me once and sent me a voice message as well, saying the same.



The day before he passed away we had a beautiful day together with Eva and Tina, with my daughter Hilde reading stories to him, his sister Renate and her husband Hans present, his brother Hali on the phone from South Africa, and his nieces Fiona and Ilse by his side. We will be forever grateful for that time. And so May we remember him as he was: As the “Benign Dictator “ he once labelled himself! As the lover of the bush and the beach. As the lover of all his cats and dogs. As the lover of golf and the comradeship that ensued. As the Chess enthusiast who used to spend many a night at the Rhein Donau Club many years ago. As the dedicated selfless vascular surgeon. As the lover of science fiction books, the stars and the unknown. As the Grandfather who dearly loved all his grandkids and would always find little gifts for them, but

perhaps not put up with them for too long in one sitting! As the dedicated family man who dearly loved all his family, despite any riffs and disagreements, and

for us all to know that despite his difficulty expressing love, there is no question as to how much he felt his love for all of us.

And especially as the lover of a good joke and a good laugh, regardless of whether at his own expense. And some may know the story. And those who know it will still enjoy it. When, the day before Anzac Day one year, whilst having some drinks with his golfing mates who would be marching the next day, he tells them that once he was a drummer boy in the Hitler Youth, his father had won the iron cross for Germany in the first world war, but he had lived in Australia since 1964, was now a citizen and had a family here and regarded himself as an Aussie. How would they feel if he joined them in the Anzac parade? …….. to which there was a long silence, until Brian Oliver piped up and said “of course Gerhard - as long as you are at the end of the line, marching in the opposite direction”!!!! A story he loved to tell and we all loved to hear.. And to finish on a quote that was one of his favourites. The Veil that was made to hide the future Was woven by the hand of Mercy. Dad, I loved you, we loved you, your dogs Lizzie and Teddy loved you. May you rest in peace - amongst the stars and in the heavens.



John Fawcett. You might have seen an obituary about John Fawcett in the West Australian. It was after a prolonged stay in SCGH many decades ago that he was inspired to set up his philanthropic enterprise in South-East Asia, which thrives today and is mostly concerned with restoring sight to those without other options. 5

Joe Scopa Joe passed away on 4th October 2017. He was a neurologist at Charlies for decades; a more gentle man you could not wish to meet.

Peter Silberstein No direct connection with SCGH to my knowledge but generations of doctors my age were taught by him at PMH and will remember him fondly. I believe occasional confusion was caused by his twin brother being professor of mathematics at UWA.

George Anastas As with Peter Silberstein, my generation of doctors will remember his teaching at RPH with affection.

Grecian Weston (nurse)

John Gibson (pharmacy, 1970s)

John Niblett John was the SCGH radiotherapist who suffered from polio early in life, and was instrumental in later defining and publicising the post-polio syndrome.

Joy Anne Langer (PTS 1/66 née Townsend, mother of cricketer Justin)

Clive Deverall Having spent years with the Cancer Council, and more lately with dignified end-of-life arrangements, his death did not occur in the way he would have wished. I once commented to him that it was regrettable that there was no word, derived from Greek roots, for the opposite of euthanasia (comfortable death). He did not profess to know much Greek, but speculated that it might have been (had it ever been coined) acrithanasia (sharp, horrible, unpleasant death). In WA we still cannot choose for ourselves.

Keith Abercrombie Keith died on 5 October, with an obituary in The West Australian appearing on 20 October 2017. I recognised his photo instantly, but was mystified until I read the last paragraph which stated that he had in later years been a volunteer at SCGH. I then recalled meeting him at a social gathering at SCGH, where he told me that earlier in life he had been a member of the Board of Management of SCGH. Next page: Audited financial statement intended for presentation to the 2017 AGM.

5 Ref Sue Morey.

Welcome to the first issue of the Charlies Alumni … ALUMNI Newsletter Issue 43, 28 October 2017...

Documents

Transcript of Welcome to the first issue of the Charlies Alumni … ALUMNI Newsletter Issue 43, 28 October 2017...