Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Katie spoke with Len Notaras from the National Critical Care and Trauma Response Centre about the critical service it provides

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Katie spoke with Len Notaras from the National Critical Care and Trauma Response Centre about the critical service it provides · 360 with Katie Woolf

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  Speaker 1: In the past they have been described as being like
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  Speaker 1: the Swiss Army Knife of the health world. And I
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  Speaker 1: think that we're all very proud as Territorians to be
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  Speaker 1: the home of the National Critical Care and Trauma Response Center.
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  Speaker 1: And my understanding is that later this week, some of
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  Speaker 1: the amazing professionals who are part of the teams which
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  Speaker 1: have traveled around the world helping some of the well
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  Speaker 1: in some of those incredibly difficult situations are going to
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  Speaker 1: be recognized for their work. Now joining me on the
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  Speaker 1: line is Professor Lehn nataris the head of the National
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  Speaker 1: Critical Care and Trauma Response Center. Good morning to you, Len.
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  Speaker 2: Good morning Katie. Lovely to speak to you, and good
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  Speaker 2: morning to all of your listeners as well.
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  Speaker 1: Lovely to have you on the show. And Len, we
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  Speaker 1: know that the National Critical Care and Trauma Response Center
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  Speaker 1: do an absolutely phenomenal job. I think that some of
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  Speaker 1: that work has really come to the forefront throughout the
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  Speaker 1: COVID situation. But there is so much that you guys
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  Speaker 1: are involved in, isn't there?
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  Speaker 2: Yes, there is, alutely, Katie, and thank you for your
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  Speaker 2: own support. Born and bred here in the Northern Territory,
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  Speaker 2: the product at that first Bali tragedy. The center has
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  Speaker 2: grown from strength to strength and what we've got now
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  Speaker 2: is a very good news story deserving recognition of outstanding achievement,
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  Speaker 2: dedication and selfless contribution of fifty three osmotas or OSMAT members.
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  Speaker 2: It's Australian Medical Assistance Team members, which OSMAT is the
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  Speaker 2: official Australian government multi disciplinary healthcare team that responds to
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  Speaker 2: what disasters internationally or to local calls domestically. Now, but
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  Speaker 2: since it started, Katie, back in two thousand and four. Now,
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  Speaker 2: of course it came out of the Barley bombing, but
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  Speaker 2: in two thousand and four it was announced as a
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  Speaker 2: real entity. The growth has been superb and I'm proud
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  Speaker 2: to work with I guess one of the finest teams
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  Speaker 2: of professionals in this country. Clinicians, nurses, allied health professionals,
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  Speaker 2: doctors and critically the logistics support staff, which are the
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  Speaker 2: very backbone of what we do. And the majority had
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  Speaker 2: drawn from our own fire and emergency service here in Darwin.
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  Speaker 2: Their day jobs as fire personnel and when these catastrophes occur,
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  Speaker 2: they rise to the cause. So Katie, the humanitarian overseas
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  Speaker 2: medal that you're referring to as an award that is
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  Speaker 2: given by IT through EMA, which is Emergency Management Australia
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  Speaker 2: to individuals who have been deployed to perform humanitarian services,
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  Speaker 2: usually in foreign countries or always in foreign countries during
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  Speaker 2: humanitarian crises. And the two we're recognizing this week and
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  Speaker 2: indeed tomorrow the response to the Philippines back in twenty thirteen.
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  Speaker 2: It sounds like a long time ago processes and indeed
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  Speaker 2: COVID hasn't helped but twenty thirteen, the Philippines and indeed
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  Speaker 2: Banuwatu in twenty fifteen.
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  Speaker 1: So fifty three Osmaty is going to be recognized. You
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  Speaker 1: must be pretty proud of their efforts. And you know,
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  Speaker 1: proud that this was born out of the Northern Territory.
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  Speaker 2: Absolutely immensely proud, Katie, and all territorians should be proud
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  Speaker 2: as well. Not all of the fifty three obviously are Territorians.
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  Speaker 2: There are a number that are drawn from other states.
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  Speaker 2: Now some of those will be getting clasps as well
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  Speaker 2: as medals. In other words, they have deployed both to
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  Speaker 2: the Philippines and indeed too Banawatu. But we had a
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  Speaker 2: major deployment back in twenty ten you may or may
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  Speaker 2: not recall, which was to Pakistan where we treated just
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  Speaker 2: on eleven thousand people in just on seventy days, which
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  Speaker 2: is phenomenal. But going to super Typhoon Him, which is
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  Speaker 2: the November twenty thirteen event that was a super Thai
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  Speaker 2: foon or one of five over a short period of time,
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  Speaker 2: winds packing more than three hundred kilometers an hour with
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  Speaker 2: catastrophic damage. Now we here in the territory recall those
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  Speaker 2: who lived through Cyclone Tracy, the tragedy of that and
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  Speaker 2: the immense destruction the cyclone Ian killed in excess of
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  Speaker 2: six thousand people and displaced just on eleven million. So
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  Speaker 2: our team, who was basically rounded up and brought together
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  Speaker 2: in a twenty four hour period, set down to utter
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  Speaker 2: destruction and without being too graphic the tragedy, there were
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  Speaker 2: still bodies, many many bodies in trees. The hospital had
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  Speaker 2: been very severely damaged, and it was incomprehensible how they
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  Speaker 2: built in a couple of days a hospital hampus that
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  Speaker 2: replaced the hospital services. Now the first team, the Alpha
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  Speaker 2: team of thirty seven that went up there commenced that
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  Speaker 2: good work and they were followed by a bravo team.
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  Speaker 2: And when you consider that over a period of the
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  Speaker 2: next few weeks they treated in excess of two thousand,
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  Speaker 2: seven hundred casualties, performed more than two hundred surgical procedures,
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  Speaker 2: it is quite It became a benchmark internationally and indeed
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  Speaker 2: it was probably one of the very first times that
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  Speaker 2: a First world nation had responded to such an event
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  Speaker 2: using the EMT. That's the Emergency Medical Team criteria set
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  Speaker 2: down by who. And what is important about that is
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  Speaker 2: that we have been the lynchpin for the EMT initiative
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  Speaker 2: since it's very inception, and in fact it was conceived
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  Speaker 2: here in Darwin and a number of people from across
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  Speaker 2: the nation contributed to it. But that was phenomenal. And then,
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  Speaker 2: of course the other the other event that we recognize
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  Speaker 2: as Banawha to twenty fifteen, and I think there were
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  Speaker 2: two teams that went up to up there, initially four
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  Speaker 2: people and then another team of twenty and that not
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  Speaker 2: as catastrophic in terms of these size, but still fifteen
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  Speaker 2: deaths in a small island nation, three and a half
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  Speaker 2: thousand displaced, and the team, I think it's a wonderful
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  Speaker 2: thing to say, delivered in excess of ninety babies who
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  Speaker 2: were born up there, so you often refer to this
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  Speaker 2: with army is indeed.
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  Speaker 1: That, well, then it is absolutely. I just think it's
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  Speaker 1: absolutely amazing the work that the National Critical Care and
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  Speaker 1: Trauma Response sem to do. You know, I always think
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  Speaker 1: when those you know, when those really frightening situations unfold
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  Speaker 1: in Australia, but overseas, as you've just spoken about, most
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  Speaker 1: people are trying their best to get away from those situations.
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  Speaker 1: And then we've got these amazing people that are part
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  Speaker 1: of the National Critical Care and Trauma Response Center who
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  Speaker 1: are going into those crisis situations and from what you've
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  Speaker 1: described pretty scary situations where bodies still in trees and
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  Speaker 1: absolutely terrifying stuff, and they are going in there and
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  Speaker 1: they're helping people when they're at their lowest.
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  Speaker 2: Absolutely, and they have to be innovative. I arrived in
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  Speaker 2: tacklob In a few days after the initial team arrived
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  Speaker 2: and they had built a full hospital campus on just
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  Speaker 2: one piece of concrete. They had to be innovative, They
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  Speaker 2: had to build their own because of self sufficiency as
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  Speaker 2: one of the key elements of the response. So it's
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  Speaker 2: not a burden on the local community. But rather than
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  Speaker 2: now set to that community. But they had built this
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  Speaker 2: facility in literally in ours they've been treating their first
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  Speaker 2: first casualty. Within hours of setting down, there was torrential
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  Speaker 2: rain still occurring. I mean I can remember seeing a
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  Speaker 2: huge cargo vessel that was now somewhere like, you know,
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  Speaker 2: sort of five kilometers in land. And even when I derived,
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  Speaker 2: the stench of death was still prevailing in the place,
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  Speaker 2: and it was just there were still bodies to be
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  Speaker 2: removed and so on and so forth. So it was
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  Speaker 2: just horrendous. And as you say, these people go in calmly,
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  Speaker 2: they re you know, sort of helped to regenerate the
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  Speaker 2: community and give a confidence that has now become an
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  Speaker 2: international benchmark for responses. So yeah, coming out of Darwin, Katie,
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  Speaker 2: your listeners and yourself and myself, I burst with pride
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  Speaker 2: thinking about the good work and the people I'm privileged
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  Speaker 2: to work with.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, I think it is absolutely incredible and wonderful that
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  Speaker 1: fifty three of those team members are going to be
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  Speaker 1: recognized tomorrow. Lean How important is it that they are
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  Speaker 1: recognized in this way?
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  Speaker 2: Ah? Look, it is important. And the delay, as I say,
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  Speaker 2: as it compounds from the time that the event occurs,
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  Speaker 2: there have to be submissions and so on and so forth.
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  Speaker 2: That it's like any of these awards, but it is
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  Speaker 2: a recognition. The individuals don't do it for the recognition.
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  Speaker 2: They do it really for the greater good and for
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  Speaker 2: the community. But the recognition is important, and I mean
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  Speaker 2: a small thank you is often something. It's the only
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  Speaker 2: thing that they you know, they sort of beam with
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  Speaker 2: pride when they see the work that they've actually done.
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  Speaker 2: And I mean we have now come into our own
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  Speaker 2: with public health emergencies. For arguments, take the some crisis
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  Speaker 2: of two years ago. Now, we haven't stopped for the
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  Speaker 2: last few years and we've responded domestically and of course
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  Speaker 2: played significant parts bringing people out of Wilham and Diamond
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  Speaker 2: Princess as well as the local facility here, which it's
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  Speaker 2: a splendid opportunity to become involved and give things back
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  Speaker 2: locally as well.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, Honestly, the work that the National Critical Care and
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  Speaker 1: Trauma Response sent to do, I think that every territory
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  Speaker 1: and should be so incredibly proud of and particularly proud
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  Speaker 1: that these fifty three people are going to be recognized
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  Speaker 1: with the overseas or the humanitarian Overseas Service Medals tomorrow.
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  Speaker 2: Lenn.
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  Speaker 1: I think I'm going to be lucky enough to have
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  Speaker 1: two of those people on the show on Friday as well,
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  Speaker 1: and I'll be really interested to hear about their experiences
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  Speaker 1: and some of that work that they've done. But we
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  Speaker 1: really appreciate your time this morning as well.
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  Speaker 2: It's an absolute pleasure, and you will hear a humble
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  Speaker 2: recount of their own experiences. They are the best of
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  Speaker 2: the best and it is well worth while listening into.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, good stuff, well, Professor len Nataris, but we really
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  Speaker 1: appreciate you having a chat with us this morning, and
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  Speaker 1: no doubt we'll talk to you again very soon.
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  Speaker 2: Lovely, thank you, thank you,