For HMAS Toowoomba’s embarked action medical organisation (AMO) team, every day on operational deployment is a grand final.

Part of that team is medical officer Lieutenant Annalise Pugno, who is on her first regional presence deployment.

“It’s been a long run getting here, but I feel very privileged to be a part of this team and in this position,” she said.

“I’ve been looking forward to doing this since I first joined Navy in 2018 – me being the deployed doctor with a crew that is mine to take care of.”

Being a medical officer at sea is a job like no other. There are no close emergency departments or specialist consultants on standby. They are the first and last option for members of ship’s company requiring medical care.

To prepare, deploying Navy doctors undertake rigorous medical training far beyond that of the average general practitioner.

“It’s a big responsibility, however, it’s been recognised that we need to have the ability to deal with things ourselves,” Lieutenant Pugno said.

“Which is why our doctors deploying to sea receive a couple of extra years training recognising that there’s a lot of pressure in being able to take care of people.”

'There’s only three of us, we know our responsibility is to look after 200 people, and it’s the best job in the fleet.'

However, just like shore-based hospitals, the AMO team could not function without a dedicated and experienced clinical manager. Chief Petty Officer Amber Mayes has been caring for the health and wellbeing of officers and sailors at sea for 22 years.

“There’s a lot more responsibility at sea,” Chief Petty Officer Mayes said.

“Back at home, it’s more preventative health care. At sea, it’s more trauma-based health care, so we do more training with our ship medical emergency team, and prepping them for trauma-based type injuries that we may encounter.”

Chief Petty Officer Mayes said, after more than two decades, she is confident practising medicine on deployment and is not fazed by the isolation due to the world-class, fit-for-purpose training provided to AMO teams.

“We are trained to keep someone alive for 72 hours, that is our mission. We are never panicked that we need to rush someone ashore to hospital, because we are trained to deal with it,” Chief Petty Officer Mayes said.

Toowoomba’s medical team consists of one doctor and two medics.  

“This is the best job in Navy. We work closely, our team is a little tripod,” Chief Petty Officer Mayes said.

“There’s only three of us, we know our responsibility is to look after 200 people, and it’s the best job in the fleet.”