On the Northern Rivers we are starting to see recovery from the devastating floods of March 2022. The recovery is patchy for businesses and householders in the worst affected areas, with many operations closing forever and others still only functioning at a fraction of their former levels. It has been a long and challenging eight months on the North Coast and the future for the area is still unclear, as Robin Osborne reports (page 8).
Dr Stephen Moore and Dr Mark Noble have closed their practices due to the flooding inundating their rooms. For other doctors also at the end of their careers but not directly affected it is an appropriate time to retire from practice. Dr Binns reflects on his time on the North Coast as a general practitioner on page xxx and on page yyy we acknowledge the huge impact he has had on both the general and health communities of the North Coast.
Encouragingly, the recent NORPA production of “Love for One Night”, staged outdoors at the Eltham pub, has been well received (page zzz) and received national press coverage. The play (although the term hardly does it justice) addresses the transient nature of loss, both material and relationship-wise, through a series of loosely connected vignettes. Where there is life, there is hope and life is certainly reblooming again in the local arts scene.
During the pandemic local resident Barry Morris overcame the vicissitudes of both isolation and his own physical limitations to produce in his late eighties a YouTube video (page rrr). Barry’s positive approach to life is an example to us all and as we note in the article “nobody’s going to keep him down”; nobody, that is, except for old man time. Barry passed away in August and will be missed by all who knew him.
This bumper issue is the last in the current series of our NorDocs magazine. The end of the pandemic and the return of face-to-face meetings gives the NorDocs Board the option to refocus the organisation on directly improving communications between colleagues both, within the medical profession and with the health community more generally.
I would like to thank the other members of the Editorial Committee for the tremendous input over these last ten years. Robin Osborne has been the driving force behind the production of the magazine and his journalistic and editorial skills have made “NorMag” a professional journal, addressing the needs and concerns of the North Coast community.
Graphics and web designer Angela Bettess, a retired medico herself, has been similarly instrumental in the magazine's production. Her talents, combined with an intimate knowledge of the medical scene, have allowed us to reach a large audience far beyond those who receive the hard copy.
Dr Andrew Binns started the magazine's predecessor GPSpeak nearly 30 years ago. It is through his knowledge and extensive networks that the magazine has been able to address many of the health, social and environmental issues that contribute to our community’s health. We wish him well in his retirement from medical practice but will not be surprised to see him remain active in the community.
Without the valued support of our advertisers, including medical specialists and hospitals in the Northern Rivers and SE Queensland, the magazine would not have been able to continue all these years. Maintaining a ‘cost neutral’ journal is a significant challenge in this current era of publishing, and we are proud to have been able to keep our head above water while producing a publication that has delivered a great diversity of articles, from the clinically targeted through to coverage of national issues such as Royal Commissions and inquiries on health related matters.
Finally, we thank our readership for your wonderful support over the last ten years. The magazine had a strong GP focus in its early life but under the NorDocs banner in the last four years we have broadened our gaze to address some of the issues affecting the secondary health sector.
In advance of the fast approaching Summer holiday season and the New Year of 2023, we extend our best wishes to all our readers, not least to regional healthcare providers, and wish you happiness, good health and professional satisfaction in your ongoing commitment to improving the health of our wonderful North Coast community.
