Thousands of Illawarra babies have been born with a silver spoon in their mouth thanks to a GP who goes above and beyond for his patients.
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Dr Jim Turner, of Market Street Medical Practice, retired this month after more than six decades of service – but his dedication to his role won’t soon be forgotten.
That included giving the parents of every baby he delivered a silver spoon – engraved with their name, weight and birth date – as a momento.
“I was very busy with obstetrics over the years and enjoyed making my babies ‘silver spooners’ by giving each a silver birth spoon with their arrival details,” he said.
“It stemmed from the time I took a trip to Jerusalem and missed out on 12 of my patients’ births, so I brought back little wooden crosses for them as a gift.
“They were received with such joy, that I decided to give all my new parents a gift, and the silver spoon came to mind. We still give them out at the practice.”
Many Illawarra women also have Dr Turner to thank for starting the epidural service at Wollongong Hospital’s maternity ward many decades ago, and he's also been instrumental in setting up drug and alcohol, quit smoking and suicide prevention services in the region.
He’s also ventured further afield, as a volunteer with the Adventist Development and Relief Agency he’s done humanitarian work on the Malay Thai border and twice on the Cambodian border during the Pol Pot regime.
Born in Marrickville, Dr Turner planned to stay in Wollongong for one year when he came in 1957 to undertake his first year residency at the public Hospital. Yet here he is 61 years later.
The recipient of the first Illawarra GP of the Year in 2004, he received an Order of Australia the following year for services to general practice.
That includes helping train the next generation of young doctors, mentoring hundreds of registrars since the 1970s.
“If you teach someone you also learn,” Dr Turner said. “And if you learn, that’s the way to keep ahead.”
Perhaps that’s the key to his longevity in a profession that has seen its fair share of change since the fifties.
“Vaccinations have done away with a lot of the diseases, and there’s been many other advances that have helped improve people’s health,” he said.
“When I was a kid if you got to 55 or 60 you were doing well, now it’s expected that you get to at least 90. Here I am, at 87, and just retiring.”
What should never change, he said, is the pastoral role that many GPs play in their patients’ lives.
A fan of famed American physician Patch Adams, Dr Turner also believes that laughter and lightness can be the best medicine.
“It’s become a bit too mechanised today, we’ve lost a bit of the humanity,” he said.
“A GP should have humanity and empathy, backed up with a scientific approach. They should visit people at home, in the hospital as well as the consulting room.”
Check in with his five children and they’ll share stories of being bundled in the car and waiting while he visited his patients at home, and in the hospital.
They also remember him delivering anonymous Christmas cards, and fruit bowls, for the elderly and isolated.
“It’s been a honour,” said Dr Turner, who now plans to spend more time with his children, his 18 grandchildren and 22 great-grandchildren. “My patients have also been my friends.”
He said his Market Street practice would continue, with additional GPs joining the team.
