This July, Dr Toby McLeay AM retires from Ngangganawili Aboriginal Health Service in Wiluna after 24 years of dedicated service to the community.
Dr Toby’s commitment to his patients and to the staff that have worked alongside him on Martu Country is a testament to the difference that one person can make in a community.
In a local newspaper article published some 20 years ago, a fresh-faced Dr Toby described his ambition to develop strong doctor-patient relationships “because it was from there that you can start to influence outcomes and behaviours”.
The strength of the relationships he has since nourished in Wiluna shine through the depth and respect of his everyday interactions with the community, which he has served as local GP for up to three generations of one family over the years.
Educated at the University of Adelaide, Dr Toby holds a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery, a Fellowship of the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine and is a Fellow of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners.
After spending some years in Adelaide following the completion of his medical degree, Dr Toby took a locum job as medical officer for the Aboriginal Medical Clinic in Utopia, Northern Territory, and spent the best part of the subsequent decade there immersed in Aboriginal culture and health politics. At the time, the leading health issue of the day was the Aboriginal infant mortality rate, which in some areas in Central Australia had peaked at around 150 deaths in the first year of life per 1000 live births.
Dr Toby describes this time in his career as more a vital life learning experience than a job, as he had to learn language and a degree of enculturation to function properly in his role. Dr Toby spent many more years working in remote Aboriginal health, moving next to Western Australia in 1996 to work at Jigalong in the Pilbara; and then to Ngangganawili Aboriginal Health Service in Wiluna where he has been for the past 24 years.
Dr Toby has made a significant contribution to building Ngangganawili Aboriginal Health Service into the medical service it is today. Leading among his many health initiatives in the community were his staunch support and active use of My Health Record and Communicare the introduction of ‘Dr Toby’s Healthy Food Choice’ labels at the local supermarket to help guide the community to make the best nutritional choices when buying products in the shop.
Dr Toby has always offered every client his time, listening to their stories, remembering adult patients from when they visited as young children and knowing the family tree of many patients.
The patients who leave his consults know they do so having received the best care possible.
In 2009, Dr Toby was awarded a Member of the Order of Australia in acknowledgement of this work. In 2019 he was recognised for his 20 years of service to the sector at the WA Country Doctors Awards, celebrating both his contribution in Wiluna’s since 2000, and his previous work in the Pilbara.
Toby’s wife Lizzie is a Registered Nurse who has worked relentlessly alongside him in Wiluna over the years.
His staff at Ngangganawili Aboriginal Health Service describe him as the one man whose door is always open to their questions and issues and he is ever generous with his wealth of knowledge, enthusiastically sharing his skills and learning with the next generation of medical professionals in Wiluna.
His knowledge with remote medicine knows no bounds, and on the odd occasion that it does – he will find a way to make sure a positive outcome is achieved.
Many a community member and staff member have been regaled with the exploits of Dr Toby McLeay, whether trekking through the Flinders’ Ranges on holiday in Adelaide, or eating croissants in a sidewalk café in Paris. Dr Toby always had a story to tell, and these are always entertaining to say the least.
Thank you Dr Toby for paving the way to a better healthcare model for all remote communities, who will follow your professional lead.
Now that your time is coming to an end in Wiluna, the staff there can all look forward to your next passion: crossword creation. All of them have been blessed at one stage or other with one of Dr Toby’s Cryptic Creations, and they believe you may also be an award winner already in this next chosen vocation.
We wish you the best of luck in your next venture. You will be missed by many across the sector, and remembered by all. You have made a positive impact on many lives and your name, we are sure, will be whispered by many, for many years to come.