twrama 1990_final oc.. - AMA WA

FOR THE RECORD
Fighting bugs
and bureaucracy
Dr Clayton Golledge
Senior Consultant in Clinical Microbiology & Head of Infectious Diseases
PathWest Laboratory Medicine WA & Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital
Q. What inspired you to take up infectious
disease medicine as a specialty?
While a student, my school holidays were spent working
at the Bacteriology Lab at Princess Alexandra Hospital in
Brisbane. So, it seemed a natural progression to go down the
Microbiology/Infectious Diseases path.
Q. The most rewarding part of your job is…
The rewards are many but in general, most of our patients
respond to anti-infective therapy and show improvement and/
or cure.
Q. What do you foresee in the future for
Clinical Microbiology and Infectious
Disease management?
The future rests with better and more rapid diagnostics
allowing increasingly targeted therapy. I do fear though,
for the longevity of antibiotics and see a far greater role
in time for immunotherapy and better disease prevention.
At present, the bugs are getting their noses in front of the
drugs. The premiership quarter looms!
Q: Your message to WA’s Health Department?
Can WA Health just cut back on the escalating bureaucracy
that is consuming the profession, and allow those of us that
want to treat people in a timely and professional manner to
be able to do so without being burdened by having to attend
endless meetings and complete so much paperwork? We need
to put the fun back into the job.
Q. The people you would most like to share
a working lunch with?
On the presumption that it is a local working lunch and we need
to get somewhere, I would invite the Premier, Kim Snowball,
Richard Choong, Fiona Wood and Gina Rinehart to bankroll
the changes. David Coomer would be there to keep the food up
to standard and John Kizon would also be in attendance as a
mediator if I did not get my way.
Q. Your greatest professional achievement?
I do not really have one, I don’t think. It has been a series of
baby steps, although I am proud of the way our Hospital in
the Home service is running and I did play some part in the
establishment of this some time ago.
Q.What would you be doing if you weren’t a
doctor?
No doubt about this one. I always wanted to be another
Dennis Cometti and even did a demo tape for the ABC when
I was still at Wesley. Interestingly, Dennis always wanted to
be a doctor and we still talk about swapping roles for a day.
Being a shocking hypochondriac, his medical knowledge is
good and I think he could probably bluff his way through.
Q. How do you unwind?
The beach or the bush beckon when I can get away.
Unfortunately holidays are too infrequent at present.
Q: Your fitness mantra?
I still manage to get to North Cott for a bit of gym time and
a swim in the early mornings about three days a week. It is
gratifying to see quite a few medical colleagues there and
know that I can still swim faster than Peter Cameron and Eric
Moussambani.
Q: What’s on your bedside table?
A copy of How to win friends and influence people by Dale
Carnegie. It was given to me by former AMA (WA) President
Dave Mountain. My wife will attest to the fact that it remains
untouched!
44 MEDICUS October