Gone West to Winton - (a nurses' story)
Yes it’s true. RNS has spread its wings out to the wild west of Winton. Situated 177kms from Longreach and famous for dinosaurs and Waltzing Matilda, Winton is a lovely little country town with a population of about 800 residents.
After an overnight stay in Longreach (due to flooding) I continued my journey to my destination – Winton Hospital via car driven by Sue the hospital gardener. On arrival I was shown to my accommodation in the nurse’s quarters. My ‘home’ for the next four weeks was a beautiful two bedroom unit built 18 months ago. I had a bedroom and a huge ensuite for myself and shared the Kitchen, lounge room and laundry with Marise my flatmate.
The next day I commenced work in the hospital. Winton Hospital consists of six beds allocated to MPHS patient (basically this is aged care) and eight acute care beds. There is also a small (2 bed) DEM which is also the responsibility of the ward staff. Regular clinics by visiting Specialist doctors are also conducted at the hospital.
Being in a remote area means that some routine ‘tests’ need a little bit of extra planning:
- Venepunctures are all collected by 12pm and packaged up to be sent by road to Longreach by courier. If you miss this deadline, sorry, no more tests until tomorrow.
- X-rays are taken by either one of the EENs who are qualified or by the lady who runs the laundry!
- Need an IV cannula? One of the nurses will pop one in for you.
- Perhaps you have a broken bone and need a POP…yes the nurses will do that for you too.
A big thank you to all the staff at the hospital for your professionalism and the friendly welcome you gave me. What a wonderful experience Winton was.
Karen Wyatt RN.