After the rain Who pays for paradise after the rain? After the rain - The Angels, November 1978 On 23 June 2022 NorDocs held its first face to face meeting in almost three years. “FloodDocs Recovery Day” was a chance for the North Coast medical community to come together to share their stories, the highs and the lows, of the recent devastating floods.
Keen Street Clinic near the peak of the flood
The towns along the Richmond and Wilson Rivers, having suffered through two years of COVID-19, were just starting to emerge from the pandemic when the record breaking flood of 28 February 2022 hit. It destroyed homes and businesses in North, South, East and Central Lismore as well as the downstream hamlets of Coraki and Woodburn. Five lives were lost.
Dr Bill Thompson (pictured above) spent two months helping restore the Keen Street Clinic. 1. Don’t panic- once the lives are saved, everything else can wait 2. You won’t sleep- and you will survive 3. You will swing wildly from optimistic to completely pessimistic 4. Be kind to your colleagues 5. Apologise when needed 6. Help comes from everywhere 7. Evaluate offers carefully and don’t rush important decisions Richmond River in Flood March 2022 For many businesses it was the final straw. They had neither the money nor the energy to start again. While government grants seem generous they barely scratch the surface of replacing expensive machinery and stock, Many have gone or are continuing a roller coaster ride through Kübler-Ross’ five stages of grief.
GP Dr Nina Robertson, of Keen Street Clinic that was destroyed by the fast flowing waters, described the ups and downs of the last few months in getting the practice going again. At times the partners wondered if it was all worth the effort. They contemplated giving up but inspired by support from their many patients they pushed on and as of late May had limited capacity for seeing patients in their restored annex on Keen Street. Nina summarised her advice for those faced with similar crises in the future. 6 | NorDocs
Dermatologist Ken Gudmundsen was similarly affected by the flooding in the main street of Lismore. His building was inundated and he lost over a million dollars worth of equipment. Ken called for more support from the government for financial aid now and for effective flood mitigation in the future. All six of the pharmacies Dr Ken Gudmundsen at FloodDocs in downtown Lismore were flooded. Kyle Woods had owned the Southside Pharmacy for only a year when the pharmacy and surgical supply store were hit. He was grateful to the surviving out-of-flood pharmacies that helped during the rebuilding process. He was also thankful to Janelle Saffin’s office for cutting through the red tape that looked like it would stymie his reopening for months. However, he was most thankful to his loyal staff who helped out in the clean up and came back to work after a hiatus of several months. On a brighter note the North Coast medical community is to be congratulated on their efforts at providing emergency medical services during the flood. The meeting learnt of Dr Ian Traise’s efforts in the first few hours and days wandering around the basketball court turned “Evac Centre” at Southern Cross University dispensing medical
