It’s a long way from Dublin to Echuca.
But that didn’t seem to worry Dr BK Pillai when he saw an Echuca obstetrics position advertised in the British Medical Journal back in the 1980s.
“Dr Jim Alexander who was a much loved and well-respected doctor had passed away and they were madly looking for an obstetrician to deliver babies and take the load off and I just accidentally opened up that particular page,” Dr Pillai said.
And that was 42 years ago.
“I wasn’t expecting anything really when I first came to Echuca. It was a long way away from Dublin and the climate was completely different — Ireland was always freezing cold and it rained all the time,” he said.
But in the scheme of things that didn’t matter because Dr Pillai, over his long and extensive career spanning four decades, went on to deliver what he estimates to be around 2500 babies over the intervening years.
“My wife Audrey loved it here and loved the hospital. She was a midwife and we were both embraced by the senior doctors and the community.
“Our two children were born here and we got to know so many people early on who have remained firm family friends 40 years later,” he said.
Dr Pillai said back in the 1980s Echuca was a thriving hospital in the midst of a small rural community.
He has watched the hospital and the town grow exponentially.
“Working in general practice and delivering babies along with offering generational care (sometimes up to three generations) across a wide spectrum of families has been amazingly satisfying.”
Dr Pillai bought into the practice in September 1982 and he watched it outgrow the original Nish St building site and move into the purpose-built space that is now the Echuca Moama Family Medical Practice.
He has also watched the hospital grow, particularly over the last 20 years, into a state-of-the-art facility, delivering babies for mums right across the region along with offering specialised, expert care.
Dr Pillai said throughout the years it has always been a challenge to encourage and attract young doctors into a rural community.
“We have put a lot of effort into attracting doctors and we support them as best as we can by ensuring their well-being is of primary importance.
‘’We don’t want our doctors to burn out and we want them to stay in medicine and we encourage them to take time off to spend with their family or to study.
“This year we have seven registrars which is unusual but I would like to think this has been generated by our encouragement and support and prioritising a positive experience.”
He said rural doctors work extraordinary hours and it is important to ensure the experience in rural health care remains a positive one.
On July 1, Dr Pillai will officially hang up the stethoscope and retire.
Although he doesn’t really know what that will actually entail, a large part of it will be spent with his partner Fiona, his children and his great-grandchildren.
“I am staying around Echuca and I think it will organically develop over time.
“I have always been a doctor and it will take some time to turn off after decades of being on call, but it has always been a privilege and an honour to work in this community.
“So many patients have come forward over the last couple of months and spoke to me about their care over the years and it has been really heartwarming,” he said.
The Echuca Moama Family Medical Practice also recently commemorated 50 years of service to the community with a celebration in May.