Queen’s Birthday Honors: Territory Covid hero Len Notaras salutes his dedicated team
The man at the helm of a heroic team of medical professionals who saw the NT through the battle against Covid-19 last year has been commended in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list.
Emergency Services
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THE man at the helm of a heroic team of medical professionals who saw the Northern Territory through the battle against Covid-19 last year has been commended in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list.
The lifesaving work of those during the coronavirus pandemic is being celebrated in this year’s list, with National Critical Care and Trauma Response Centre executive director Len Notaras being appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia.
“I’m blown away, I genuinely wasn’t expecting this,” he said.
Professor Notaras and the team of AUSMAT doctors he oversees have been at the forefront of Australia’s coronavirus response since the first uncertain days when the global pandemic began.
Health Minister Greg Hunt entrusted his team to fly to China and bring Australian nationals home last January before being asked to fly overseas the following month to rescue stranded Aussies from the Diamond Princess in Japan.
AUSMAT teams were also called to assist during multiple outbreaks across the country, including on the Artania cruise ship in WA, the North West Regional Hospital in Tasmania and Victoria’s aged care outbreak.
They also took on the enormous task of overseeing the quarantine of thousands of repatriated Aussies at the Centre of National Resilience at Howard Springs before the NT government recently took over control of the facility.
Prof Notaras said last year had been one of the most challenging of his life and while the massive responsibility wasn’t lost on him, he just didn’t have time to stress about it.
“I do feel the responsibility, similar to when we were responding to the Bali bombings at Royal Darwin Hospital, and it was about three days before I could go to bed,” he said.
“If you’re in a battle situation, you can’t really leave the bridge if you’re the captain.
“But I couldn’t do what I do without all the people that I have the privilege of working with, and my family is also very supportive.
“Robyn runs the super clinic in Palmerston so she works about six and a half days a week anyway and she understands.”
Prof Notaras said he wouldn’t likely be getting a break any time soon, with AUSMAT teams now preparing to leave to Fiji.
“I thought we might spend a lot of time preparing for training but now with places like Timor and PNG needing assistance, we’re preparing to send more teams,” he said.
“We are also preparing, it hasn’t been decided yet, to also send a team to Fiji if called upon.”
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