During the recent flooding here, stories come out of resilience, perseverance, and community spirit where people come to the aid of others. One such story is Dr. Tata and his Home Hill Surgery doctors who went over and above, to ensure the Burdekin had access to doctors so their medical needs were met.
After the roads were cut off, many patients were left stranded unable to attend their appointments, but so too were the doctors themselves. Rather than be forced to closed the surgery and have patients not get the attention they need, Dr. Tata and his team found viable solutions to ensure every patient was seen, which on one day, saw them attend to 100 patients!
“We were really scared, like everybody else, but we did not want to just close down, so we adapted to the flood conditions. Medicare lets us do 30 tele-health patients a day, and on Monday, when the roads closed, I rang the Department of Transport, and they said it will be closed for another three days. I was in Brisbane and had flown up to Townsville that day and rather than cancelling our patients, we hired a chopper to fly down. When we flew we saw a lot of water on the road. I thought that was the best choice we made, because otherwise we would have been stranded in Townsville for three days.” Dr. Tata says.
“We had two doctors here in Home Hill, and two doctors in Ayr. Dr. Dwija Karumanchi conducted home visits in Ayr, for around 20 patients. She actually came over on a tow truck, saw patients here, and then she’d go back on another truck. The day after that, they had the rail bus up and running, thanks to Queensland Rail.”
But it wasn’t just Dr. Tata and his team going the extra mile, he found the local community incredibly supportive of him and his practice also, as he explains.
“The community was very supportive and helped with sandbags and other flood preparations. Me and my wife, we went to fill sandbags, and I filled two, they filled 18, before I realised that the sandbags were already in place out front protecting the entrance. They also helped put up plastic at the entry way to better protect it. The local community was very helpful,” he says.
Despite the initial disruptions, the practice continued to serve patients effectively. It’s a testament to people’s spirit and ingenuity to ensure those who needed support most, got it!
“This is a very small community so to all those amazing people, the Burdekin community and Shire Council, the Disaster Management Group, and Queensland Rail, we are very thankful for the help and support.”
Dr. Tata & Dr. Dwija Karumanchi about to fly out of Townsville by helicopter. Photo: Supplied
Dr. Tata about to board the rail-cart supplied by Queensland Rail, so he could continue to see his patients.
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