POPULAR Leongatha doctor Hugh Chisholm was recently acknowledged for his 35 years’ service at Leongatha Healthcare and Leongatha Southern Health, receiving recognition through the Victorian
Rural Health Awards, having also been nominated as Rural GP of the Year.
The awards, in their 20th year, are presented by Rural Workforce Agency Victoria.
Dr Chisholm continues to enjoy working in the medical clinic and at Leongatha Hospital.
When Sentinel-Times popped into the clinic for a chat, he was quick to point out that his wife Lesley, who retired early this year, worked there for almost as long as he has.
The couple arrived in town in 1990 with a couple of young children.
Hugh qualified as a doctor in 1981, spending five years at Dandenong Hospital before a move to Broome where he worked in indigenous health for three years.
He felt the latter role, being in an isolated area and dealing with situations he hadn’t previously experienced stood him in good stead for his future medical practice.
After the shift to Leongatha, Hugh and Lesley found they enjoyed being part of the community, deciding it was the right spot for their kids to grow up.
Over the years, Hugh has combined General Practice with hospital responsibilities in obstetrics, anaesthetics and emergency work.
While he no longer delivers babies, there is still a sense of joy in seeing those he helped bring into the world.
In some cases, Hugh delivered two generations, and he was a part of the birth of both parents of the last baby he delivered.
The mix of clinic and hospital work has proved a good balance, with being a GP difficult at times due to challenges such as helping people deal with mental health issues.
With the ongoing struggles of rural towns to find enough doctors, Hugh said that being a rural generalist is a fantastic career, pointing out that living in Leongatha has provided a great lifestyle and it isn’t too far from Melbourne.
Being a doctor has provided him with a lot of job satisfaction and a sense of pride in having helped other people, the desire to do so being a motivating force in his decision to pursue medicine as a career.
Having cut his working week down from four days to three during the pandemic, Hugh is beginning to contemplate retirement, planning to review the situation at the end of the year.
While there have been many technological improvements over the years, there has also been a substantial increase in bureaucratic requirements.
When Hugh started at the Leongatha clinic there were nine partners, but now it is just him, Lesley, and Dr Chris Webster.
There was once an expectation doctors joining a clinic would eventually become partners, but that is no longer so.
“Now doctors don’t want to be business owners,” Hugh said.
Leongatha Healthcare Clinic long had responsibility for staffing the town’s hospital but the hospital now employs its own doctors.
“It’s been a long journey and I’ve pretty much enjoyed every minute,” Hugh said, adding that perhaps didn’t include some of the late-night callouts, Lesley pointing out that at least he never attended those in his pyjamas.
He reflected that it has been rewarding serving the community and contributing to positive health outcomes.
In his spare time, Hugh enjoys photography, his stunning nature photos adorning the clinic walls, featuring animals such as whales.
Perhaps this newspaper can call on his skills with the camera when he decides the time is right to finish his illustrious career as a doctor.
