‘Care for people as people’: Beloved Western Queensland doctor honoured with OAM

A St George born doctor has been awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia for 45 years of service to rural and remote medicine.

A Western Queensland doctor with 45 years in the field has been honoured for his decades of service with an OAM.

The son of two St George doctors, David Rimmer grew up around regional medicine and when it came time to decide his future the choice was clear.

“I grew up knowing what my parents did and how they did it and in grade 12 I had to decide whether I wanted to do medicine because I wanted to or because they expected it but they never put any pressure on me,” he said

“I decided I wanted to do it because it was a good way of making a positive contribution to the world.”

Graduating from medical school in 1977 the former Central West Hospital and Health Services director of clinical training and ACRAM board member Mr Rimmer spent ten years working in an emergency department in Brisbane.

Fifteen years ago Mr Rimmer relocated back to rural Queensland taking on a leadership role in Longreach.

He said it was an honour to receive the OAM.

“It’s exciting, but these awards are always to the team rather than the individual so I am very grateful to the team that supported me over the time and made it possible,” he said.

“I’m also very pleased because it shows all of the young doctors you can get an award like this working in remote Queensland, the awards aren’t confined just to the big cities.”

Over his close to half a century in medicine Mr Rimmer said he had seen the field change dramatically.

“In the early days it was more isolated than it is currently, these days there is lots of support available so we spend time building up networks so we always have a friend to phone,” he said.

“I also think it has become more centred around the patient, we have become much more aware of the impact of an illness on the individual. I’ve often thought that being a GP is like being a marriage counsellor between the patient and their illness. They have to get on with each other but the question is how?”

David Rimmer received an OAM

Throughout his storeyed career Mr Rimmer said his mentoring of the next generation was what he was most proud of.

“In the Central West we have created a work environment that medical graduates want to come to which I am proud of, the second thing I’ve enjoyed is the education, teaching and mentoring of the next generation of doctors.

“My advice to the next generation is to look after themselves as people, make sure they have support networks, to get into medicine they are smart enough. It is the question of making sure they can continue to contribute in the way they want to.

“They are a values driven generation so stick to your values and work on being a good person.

“The advice for health systems is if you don’t give them (young doctors) the opportunity to live out their values particularly in regional areas then they will leave because they don’t see the point.”

Mr Rimmer said he would like to see the focus on the values and patient care continue into the future of medicine.

“I’d like to see the focus on the individual increase and ensure services can be provided as close to home as possible,” he said.

“Rural doctors have always been innovative in finding solutions for their patients and in the future my hope would be as innovations come through they are adopted locally to allow patients to receive quality care as close to home as possible.”