By
Allan Cole
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FLTLT
Bronte Douglas, of No. 24
(City of Adelaide) Squadron, treats a local Solomon Islander.
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Picking
up patients in an aluminium dinghy from an outlying island was
not what Adelaide nurse Bronte Douglas expected when she joined
the ADF on deployment in the Solomon Islands.
But she recognised that “military nursing presents many challenges
and experiences that are not necessarily faced in civilian nursing
practice”.
Flight Lieutenant Douglas, of No. 24 (City of Adelaide) Squadron,
was part of an aeromedical evacuation team that flew by Caribou
from Honiara to a grass airfield on a small island then crossed
open water in a dinghy to get to the patient.
“It was entertaining and I was laughing at it all until the dinghy’s
outboard motor stopped and we drifted for 10 minutes trying to
start it again,” FLTLT Douglas said.
“In hindsight, water leaking into the bottom of the dinghy should
have been a hint of what to expect. But I have to say we got the
patient back to the medical centre in Honiara safely and he is
doing very well, but I think he was a bit concerned when the dinghy’s
motor stopped.”
FLTLT Douglas is part of the medical team in the Solomon Islands
providing a valuable service to Australians on deployment and
to the local community.
She works in the Joint Medical Facility and in her unit is a doctor,
a nurse, an environmental health officer and three medics. “Being
here has been a great experience,” she said.
“The opportunity to work, live and treat people from wide cultural
backgrounds has been very interesting. I live in a tent at the
Henderson Airfield in Honiara and there are about 300 others
here as part of Operation Anode.
“It has been very rewarding to work with the Solomon Island people
and be able to assist with the aeromedical evacuations of patients
who otherwise would not have access to appropriate medical facilities.”
Earlier this year, FLTLT Douglas received the inaugural ADF Nursing
Reservist Award at the South Australian Nursing Excellence Awards,
which acknowledges professionalism in both military and civilian
nursing practice.
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