By Tanya Steele
Local Doctor Elroy Schroeder recently had his last day in general practice in Healesville’s Yarra Medical Clinic on Thursday 29 June.
After over five decades of service to the community as a physician, over six generations of families as patients, 800 babies delivered, and nearly 10,000 general anaesthetics given, Dr Schroeder said he has seen the sleepy hollow town evolve into a vibrant tourism destination.
“This is a lovely town, It’s a country town that has a lot of features of the city, I’ve made thousands of contacts and good friends,” he said.
Dr Schroeder began working in Healesville in 1971 and originally graduated as a Doctor in South Africa in 1967.
“When I arrived in 1971, I only knew one person in Healesville,” he said.
“South Africa was not a nice place to live in, I didn’t like what I was seeing there and what I was experiencing and I migrated to Australia.”
Australia was actively recruiting medical staff at the time and Dr Schroeder was picked up by the Victorian government which was seeking staff for remote areas.
Two other doctors were operating out of Healesville and Dr Schroeder joined them for partly for his anaesthetic skill set.
“They wanted to form a surgical unit but they did not have an anaesthetist that is that’s where I came in,” he said.
The doctor has since worked in many different roles within the town and has seen patients in a range of settings — seeing an array of patients from the timber industry to the old army barracks and aged care facilities.
“They [the timber mills] did produce injuries, very severe and the worst case that I did with Dr Johnson was a guy that almost amputated his own leg with a chainsaw,” he said.
“The patient arrived on the back of the truck from Buxton and we spent two hours reconstructing his leg and putting it together. That was probably the worst thing.”
For some time he worked out of Healesville Hospital and Dr Schroeder said his days started with surgery and ended with consultations.
“Broken bones, babies, antenatal care, postnatal care, lots of surgery and some big stuff,” he said.
As time went on, Dr Schroeder moved fully into GP work, although he said he did some anaesthetic work in other locations for a while.
“I got more into GP work but for a while, I also gave anaesthetics at other hospitals like Lilydale, Yarra Junction and Warburton,” he said.
Outside of his medical work Dr Schroeder said he was a founding member of the Rotary Club.
“My biggest project for the Rotary Club which I’m very, very proud of is I was responsible for starting and publishing the first three editions of the communities service directory,” he said.
Dr Schroeder said over recent years he has felt frustrated by the long waiting list in the public system and the challenges from increased bureaucracy challenges.
“We used to have young doctors that are interested in general practice and now we only have 15% of graduates…we need to recapture them,” he said.
Welcome changes have included more women in medicine and the implementation of technology in practice.
“There are more women doctors around and more specialists who are women…that’s a good thing,” he said.
“One of the biggest changes was the introduction of computers into practice…the records are much more precise and accurate on a computer system.”
Dr Schroeder has practised medicine in four different countries and has been on sabbatical as a doctor twice.
“The Air Force was looking for GPs to go to work at the airbase Malaysia, I went and had great fun, I’ve been fortunate that I’ve done medical practice in four countries. It gave me a perspective certainly,” he said.
Dr Schroeder said he knows many people around Healesville and that once he got established he knew he was here to stay.
“If I walk down the street, I stop to say hello to people about 20 times,” he said.
As a doctor, he has found satisfaction from interventions that have made big differences in patient outcomes.
“Where my intervention has made a difference, that’s what makes the job worthwhile,” he said.
With his appointment book now clear Dr Schroeder said he has a few plans to fill his day.
“I’m gonna putter around, go to art galleries, go to shows and do a little bit of travelling,” he said.
