Staff spotlight: local GP finds her calling in aged care

Dr Simone Wright is a general practitioner who works exclusively in aged care. Here is her story of working as a mobile doctor in the Gold Coast residential aged care homes sector.

A penchant for aged care

“I have been working in a general practice for about 13 years now, and very early in my training I was introduced to aged care. When I became a GP Fellow, I was asked to be at the GP BUPA Runaway Bay aged care facility a morning a week and I really enjoyed it,” Simone said.

“A couple of years ago I was asked to go to another nursing home facility, but I found I didn’t really have the time to add it to my clinic schedule. It takes time with rounds, notes, calling families and liaising with care staff, and on top of the clinic pressures it becomes quite difficult.

“But they convinced me of the value for regular visits by a female GP, so I thought, ‘perhaps I can make this my business’, and I set myself up as a mobile GP.”

Each week Simone visits five Gold Coast aged care homes, one a day.

“The residents and families know what day I visit, and the care staff have my notes ready for my rounds and it works well,” she said.

Why specialise in aged care?

Simone says the mobile clinics are well tailored to her personality.

“I like all kinds of general practice, and sometimes I miss the young families and babies and teenagers and just general healthcare for adults.

“But what I found with focusing my time on aged care is I can spend time with the residents – I can sit and talk with them without having to rush off to a waiting room full of patients, and I feel my work is appreciated and worthwhile,” she said.

Simone says the job also gives her the flexibility to spend more time with her two teenage daughters, catch up on reading books for pleasure and fit in some regular exercise.

“And being mobile, I get to work with talented in-house teams at so many different locations.

“For me the most rewarding things each day are the conversations with the residents, and it doesn’t have to be about their health. They might tell me about something that has happened in their lives; they simply just want to be listened to.

“By finding the time to provide good holistic care, there are rewards in that,” she said.

Loneliness breakers

Simone is sometimes shadowed during her residential aged care home visits.

“I often bring my dog Shadowe along on my rounds; she’s a five-year-old cavoodle and not technically a therapy dog, but she’s a great dog. You can see the happiness in the faces when Shadowe comes in the door, particularly with the residents who might not get too many visitors,” she said.

“At Estia Robina Rise there’s a resident there who is not even under my care, but she looks after Shadowe while I do my rounds.

“She has treats and water ready for her, she takes her outside to meet other residents, and she says it’s the highlight of her week.”

Lessons learned from the residents

“The residents can surprise you with the things they’ve done in their lives,” Simone said.

“For instance, one of my female residents was the mayor of a country town and I was just blown away to find that out. And there are the places the residents have travelled and the things they’ve done and the amazing life experiences they’ve had.

“And they all seem to genuinely care about me as well.

“They ask about my children, the holidays I’ve been on and all those sorts of things because they want to connect with the outside world, and I help them do that; those are the kinds of relationships that you build.”

Relationships with residential aged care homes staff

Simone works closely with facility staff and families to provide the right care for those unable to make their own healthcare decisions.

“We involve the families and the number of them that are appreciative of a simple phone call still surprises me,” she said.

Simone says the residential aged care homes staff, particularly those that stay on the same wards, are really onto all things health.

“They know what’s going on with residents and their families and they are the best people to notice any changes.

“Residential aged care homes staff are the key and that’s one of the reasons I enjoy my work so much, because I can rely on them.

“And when I finish my rounds each day I’m not stressed because I know the residents are well cared for by the staff at the facility,” she said.

Simone says communication is the key.

“With residents who are verbal or non-verbal, you can still show that you care about them, that’s what it’s all about.

“Spending time with the residents, making them feel important and listened to is vital to their proper healthcare.

“For me, working in the residential aged care homes sector is both a calling and a lifestyle” she said.