A HUMBLE doctor, whose work has touched three countries and more than 10,000 patients, said he is honoured to be awarded the Order of Australia medal (OAM).
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The citation reads: For service to rural and remote medicine as a general practitioner.
But Dr Natarahan (Nat) Subbiah, now a resident of Emmaus Nursing Home suffering from Parkinson’s Disease, has not always been a GP.
In his native India he was an Associate Professor of surgery and also spent a year in England in 1969 on a scholarship to the Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital London, specialising in paediatric surgery.
Dr Subbiah’s wife of nearly 55 years, Vasantha, said he gave up quite a lot to come to Australia in terms of status, but the OAM was an honour for the whole family in that Australia has given back to her husband after all he has given to his patients. The family emigrated to Australia in 1973 with brief stays in Perth, Sydney and Darwin, before spending three years as medical superintendent at Katherine Hospital, Northern Territory. During this time he was involved in the treatment of people following Cyclone Tracy in December 1974.
The now 81-year-old then moved to the NSW mining town of Barraba, 150 kilometres west of Tamworth via Thunderbolts Way.
During his 19-year term as a visiting medical practitioner at Barraba Health Service time, Dr Subbiah was involved in the establishment of the first Diabetes Clinic in Barraba and the Palliative Care Unit which was named in his honour.
He also introduced the technique of syringe drive for better pain relief of terminally ill patients, a technique not previously used in New South Wales. In 1995 Dr Subbiah retired to Port Macquarie, working five days a week and relieving his daughter Dr Nandini Subbiah at Wauchope Memorial Hospital and clinic on weekends. Daughter Shar Subbiah lives and works in Newcastle and his son Professor Rajesh Subbiah is director of Cardiac Electrophysiology at St Vincent’s.
A quiet achiever - Phil Passmore
Serving his community - Ken Fletcher
