Health care heroes honoured for services to aged, rural health
From left: Winners Dr Ewen McPhee, Dr Ellen Burkett, Dushy Thangiah, with Minister for Health and Ambulance Services the Hon Yvette D’Ath MP, AMA Queensland Chair Dr Eleanor Chew and President Professor Chris Perry.
Brisbane physician Dr Ellen Burkett has been awarded the prestigious 2021 AMA Queensland Gold Medal, for outstanding service to the community and the practice of medicine.
Dr Burkett was one of three award recipients announced at the Dinner for the Profession, AMA Queensland’s annual black-tie event in Brisbane on August 20.
Dr Burkett, is a senior emergency staff specialist at Brisbane’s Princess Alexandra Hospital and clinical lead of residential aged care facility acute care support services (RaSS) with Clinical Excellence Queensland, which aims to improve the quality and safety of medical care for aged care residents.
“This is an opportunity to acknowledge the fantastic work being done by aged care clinicians across Queensland,” Dr Burkett said. “I’m accepting this medal on behalf of every clinician who works in aged care including nurses, GPs and the RaSS doctors.”
For the past decade, Dr Burkett has been leading research into emergency and acute care for older people. She also co-chairs the Geriatric Emergency Medicine Section of the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine, which aims to foster and promote quality clinical care for older people in hospital emergency departments.
Dr Burkett’s work focuses on residential aged care health, aiming to support resident choice to receive emergency care in their home environment, and improve the quality of care they receive, whether in the facility or in hospital.
The Gold Medal is presented for exceptional service to the medical profession and the community.
Rural Health Medal
Emerald GP Dr Ewen McPhee was presented with the AMA Queensland Rural Health Medal in appreciation of more than three decades’ exceptional service to rural and remote communities.
“I am incredibly grateful for the recognition,” Dr McPhee said. “Being a rural doctor is always a partnership between yourself, your family and the community, so I feel I share it with them.”
A rural GP for 35 years, Dr McPhee’s first rural posting was at Charleville Hospital and as an anaesthetist for Dr Louis Ariotti, who he described as one of “the last true rural generalist surgeons”.
Dr McPhee moved to Emerald in 1989 as the lone public doctor.
“There was one doctor at Emerald Hospital and about three GPs in the community,” he recalled. “Now, there are 18 public doctors, including five obstetricians and 10 GPs. There has been a real transformation in services to patients.”
Dr McPhee also worked with Dr Jim Baker’s renowned flying obstetric service and entered private practice in 1992.
Dr McPhee was involved in setting up the first rural GP-led respiratory clinic in Australia in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Emerald clinic also serves as a COVID-19 vaccination hub.
Excellence in Health Care
Townsville social services champion Mrs Dushy Thangiah has been honoured for her outstanding work in the housing and homelessness sector.
Mrs Thangiah was awarded the AMA Queensland Excellence in Health Care Medal for her significant contribution to promoting the link between healthcare and stable housing as CEO of the non-profit housing service Yumba-Meta.
“Health, education and housing must go hand-in-hand to close the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people,” Mrs Thangiah said. “Many First Nations people are not comfortable going to hospital, so we need to deliver health services in a more culturally appropriate way.”
Mrs Thangiah joined Yumba-Meta in 1995 and won the 2019 Telstra Australian Businesswomen’s Award for Purpose and Social Enterprise.
For many years, she has been an active community volunteer and participated in numerous advisory groups and industry associations, particularly relating to housing, domestic violence and youth engagement.
Inspiring service
The awards were presented by the Hon Yvette D’Ath MP, Minister for Health and Ambulance Services and AMA Queensland President Professor Chris Perry at the Emporium Hotel South Bank with 100 people in attendance.
Prof Perry said all the winners had made an enormous contribution to health care in the state over many years.
“Congratulations to all the award winners,” Prof Perry said. “Their leadership, drive and commitment to serving their communities is inspirational.
“The past 18 months has shone a light on the many extraordinary people working in acute, primary and community health care settings.
“AMA Queensland is incredibly proud and impressed by the exceptional resilience, flexibility and ingenuity demonstrated across the medical profession.”