Doctors who service Broken Hill are starting to settle into their new roles and life in regional NSW.
The newest members of the Royal Flying Doctor Service South Eastern Section’s (RFDSSE) Emergency and Anaesthetic team have adapted and are already creating new memories.
Doctors Phil Pascoe, Emezie Odigboh, Vytas Semogas, Moon-Moon Majumdar, Jack Lewis and Harwood Robinson are enjoying the work since joining last August.
Retrieval medical officer’s Dr Majumdar and Dr Odigboh share how the first few months with the Flying Doctor have been for them.
“Working with the RFDS is particularly rewarding because you are providing care to such remote places and communities that would otherwise have very little medical support,” Dr Majumdar said.
“The best thing is meeting people from different communities and different backgrounds as part of the job.”
Her role involves working at either the Dubbo or Broken Hill bases to stabilise and transfer patients needing care safely.
One memory has always stood out for her along her journey in the past few months.
“We landed on a dirt strip at a station near Cameron Corner a few months ago: a pitch-black night with no moon, just the faint twinkling of the solar fairy lights to guide the pilot in,” Dr Majumdar said.
“The pilots are seriously impressive people – no burning toilet rolls to light the way for any of my jobs.”
Nigerian-born, Dr Odigboh, said the term used to describe doctors as a ‘lifeline’ has never been so apt working for the RFDSSE.
“We are literally the lifeline to some remote communities, because accessing healthcare would be unattainable if it wasn’t for the Flying Doctor,” he said.
“We deliver not only varied services but hope to our people.”
Dr Odigboh spent time in the United Kingdom and previously held a position at London’s Air Ambulance Physician Response Unit.
He heard about the Flying Doctor from one of his students and decided to undertake research that saw him relocate to Australia.
The team is excited to continue providing primary healthcare and 24-hour emergency cover to rural and remote communities across the Far West NSW.
