Air Force medical personnel from Health Services Wing conducted a joint surgical exercise at Katherine Hospital this month.
The activity involved Air Force personnel working as a cohesive team alongside Katherine Hospital staff to boost the hospital’s surgical capabilities.
Nursing officer Flight Lieutenant Tristan Checkley said the experience allowed all clinicians to work together to provide safe, surgical care for patients.
“We’re really appreciative that the staff at Katherine Hospital have been so inviting and so welcoming, we’ve had the ability to showcase interoperability,” Flight Lieutenant Checkley said.
“We’ve got that common language and knowledge; whether you’ve trained here, Darwin or Melbourne, it doesn’t matter. So we’ve been able to bring RAAF Health into NT Health and work seamlessly.”
During the week, there was an increase in surgical services at Katherine Hospital, shortening waiting lists for electives.
Northern Territory Health and the ADF have a strong partnership that allows Air Force staff to work at Katherine and boost skills sharing between the two organisations.
General Surgeon and Squadron Leader Peter Yuide said the exercise is the second time a team of Air Force personnel has worked at Katherine Hospital this year and is a building block for further integration.
“This exercise is a service to the community, demonstrating that we can provide … to a town that provides everything to us as a large Air Force base,” Squadron Leader Yuide said.
“It’s a great opportunity for the full-time Air Force personnel to get exposure in a civilian workplace and for us [reservists] to be immersed in the military.”
Permanent and reserve Air Force personnel from Health Services Wing participated in this exercise, travelling in from locations all across Australia.
Nursing officer Squadron Leader Jennifer Payne said feedback from patients and Katherine Hospital was extremely positive overall.
“Exercises like this enhance everybody’s skills; to be able to come into a workplace where you don’t know anybody and contribute to the team,” Squadron Leader Payne said.
“We’re bringing that back into our jobs in Defence. It’s building us as people and making us more adaptable.”
