Keeping Defence personnel healthy and in a constant state of readiness has been made a little easier thanks to an upgrade of facilities at RAAF Base Pearce’s Health Centre. Pearce is one of 13 priority locations that have been improved under the Joint Health Command Garrison Facilities Upgrade Project.
Although defining a typical day for a Defence Nursing Officer is tricky – you are just as likely to be completing aeromedical evacuation training, or be on operational deployment as you are providing outpatient care – the new facilities are welcomed by the team, including 2IC Nursing Officer, Flight Lieutenant Danie Bunting.
“A routine day would start with equipment checks, and a morning brief and then we have sick parade – which is similar to a walk-in GP or urgent care service. Any ADF members can present with whatever ailments they have and we’ll look after them,” said Danie.
With nursing already an interesting and rewarding role, being a nursing officer in the Defence Force provides you with opportunities and a variety that cannot be found in the private sector, and this appealed to Danie.
“I always wanted to be a member of the Defence Force – particularly the Air Force,” said Danie. “Then it was a matter of evaluating what I wanted to do.
“I did serve in the Army Reserve as a combat medic. After completing studies in paramedicine and nursing, working at private hospitals and as a contractor to NATO in Afghanistan, and then as a contractor to Defence Joint Health Command, I went full time in the RAAF.”
The refurbished facilities are a stark contrast to the conditions under which Defence medical staff are trained to work in.
“When joining Defence, we complete a Health Officer Conversion Course – which takes our civilian clinical skills and applies them to a military setting,” Danie explains.
“The main difference is the ability to work in austere and remote environments – being able to work out of a tent or a hospital that is not fully-functioning, working with limited resources and still achieving the best outcome we can.”
While Danie is hesitant to trot out the cliché, “If you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life”, it does sum up his approach to his career.
“It can be a stressful job, but at the same time we have a really good team and a lot of support – and it’s fun,” he said.
“The best thing about being in the Air Force is the people I get to work with – not just here in health, but across the whole organisation.”
The upgraded primary health care facilities at Pearce cover dental, physiotherapy, mental health and allied health care services. Minister for Defence Industry Melissa Price and Minister for Finance Simon Birmingham toured the refurbished Pearce Health Centre on October 7.
Minister Price said the facilities being delivered across the country would provide the world-class health infrastructure required to meet the ADF’s current and future capability needs.
“These projects around the nation will deliver outstanding health services to more than 34,750 active ADF members, significantly contributing to operational capability,” she said.
