Page 3514 - Week 08 - Thursday, 23 August 2012
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talk about two further health professionals who have passed away recently. This has been a very difficult year for many people who work at Canberra Hospital, with the tragic accident of Linda Cox and the subsequent death of Dr Damian McMahon.
Following on from those tragic circumstances, it is with enormous regret that I rise tonight to pay my respects to Dr Toni Medcalf, a doctor who worked at Canberra Hospital, who passed away unexpectedly on 6 August 2012, and to pay tribute to her valued contribution to our local health system. I also offer my sympathies and those of the ACT government to Dr Medcalf’s husband, Brian, her children, Matt, Carys, Tim and Lachlan, and the extended families, friends and colleagues.
Many, many people knew and admired Dr Medcalf as a passionate doctor. Her family and friends knew the woman behind the doctor, though—the elite triathlete and sportswoman, the keen skier and an outstanding community member who threw herself into all endeavours with great commitment and excitement.
Dr Medcalf worked at the Canberra Hospital from 2005 as an emergency registrar, but she also included stints of work at Calvary hospital, paediatrics at Canberra Hospital and the neonatal intensive care unit. She had previously been a rural GP, as well as co-director of the emergency department and the director of medical services at Dubbo Base Hospital.
Dr Medcalf had a passion for life and medicine and was particularly devoted to paediatrics. She was a driving force behind the Canberra Hospital and health services paediatric education. She was a national leader in paediatric life support education and was a board member of the Advanced Paediatric Life Support. This organisation exists to promote excellence in emergency care of ill and injured children through the provision of high quality contemporary education programs for health professionals. Dr Medcalf embodied the APLS values of support, integrity, respect, inclusiveness and commitment.
I am told her passion for work was infectious. She was a wonderful inspiration to those lucky enough to work alongside her in a professional capacity—students as well as colleagues.
My thoughts go to the staff of the Health Directorate, in particular those from the emergency department, paediatrics and the neonatal intensive care unit, who have lost a passionate friend who will be best remembered by her colleagues for her delightful smile, her sense of humour and her unwavering commitment to bettering the lives of all she met.
To Dr Medcalf’s family, who are grieving at this point, your wife and mother’s work will not be forgotten. Her legacy will continue and will be protected and respected by her many colleagues and friends who work at Canberra Hospital. A scholarship program has been created to remember Dr Medcalf and her commitment, particularly in the area of paediatric life support. It has been a tough year for employees at Canberra Hospital with the unexpected and early deaths of trusted, valued and respected members of staff. Dr Medcalf was one of those and she will be remembered.
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