Saving lives around the world A SURGEON based at Frankston Hospital also leads another medical life — as a specialist medical officer in the Royal Australian Navy. Commander Ian Young has been deployed several times to war zones such as Afghanistan and Iraq alongside missions to Papua New Guinea. “It’s a bit of a convoluted life, but when I’m not deployed I work at Peninsula Health full time,” he said. “I do two clinics and two or three operating lists a week – a lot of shoulder work, hip and knee, a little bit of foot and ankle work and then trauma for adults and kids.” The trauma Commander Young sees at Frankston Hospital is a world away from the surgeries he has performed in war zones in the Middle East. “A lot of the clinical work is amputations, ballistic wounding and then there still can be standard trauma,” he said. He was first deployed to Afghanistan in 2010 and went back in twice in 2012, to work as a medical advisor with oversight of all Australian casualties and health personnel within the Middle East under Australian command, and then as an orthopaedic surgeon working with the US Navy which led the coalition hospital in Kandahar, Afghanistan. “In 2014 I was deployed as a resuscitation medical officer and orthopaedic surgeon to Bougainville, Papua New Guinea, initially on the ship and then with the Army in its field hospital. “Last year I was back in the Middle East but this time in Iraq for six months, as the Director of Clinical
Battle hardened: Commander Ian Young works at Frankston Hospital as an orthopaedic surgeon between military deployments overseas. Picture: Supplied
Services and Orthopaedic Surgeon, at the ANZAC Hospital in Taji Iraq, which is north-east of Baghdad.” Commander Young first joined the Navy as a medical student in his native Canada before transferring to the Royal Australian Navy in 1998
after meeting his wife, who is from Melbourne. “Frankston was the first Australian hospital I worked in – when I transferred across I started working in the emergency department to see how the Australian medical system worked.” Commander Young admits it can sometimes be difficult juggling the competing priorities of the Navy and Peninsula Health, but says he enjoys the challenge. “There are only so many hours in the day and I’m married with four children ranging in age from 12 to 20 and have a dog,” he said. “I also try to keep involved in the community, I even played my first season of AFL Footy in the over 45s last year for Parkdale. “Mental health wise I have good support from family, the orthopaedic unit at Peninsula Health and excellent friends. I’ve been in the same neighbourhood since 2001 so I’ve known people for 16 years and that certainly helps.” He enjoys treating an array of patients at Peninsula Health, including veterans. “If I identify patients are veterans there’s always something we can chat about. Certainly everyone in the clinic knows my background – my hair cut gives me away.”
Council watch Visitors centre stays on foreshore, for sure A U-turn has seen councillors unanimously vote to overturn a previous decision to move the Frankston Visitor Information Centre from the foreshore to central Frankston. Councillors voted at the 3 April public council meeting to keep the visitors centre near Frankston pier after a majority of councillors first voted last October behind closed doors to move the centre away from its current site. Cr Sandra Mayer hailed the council u-turn as “a great outcome” at March’s meeting. “At the time that we originally made the decision it was in closed council, we didn’t have the luxury of being able to go and speak to the volunteers … we couldn’t consult, it was confidential,” she said. “It didn’t get ugly. Some things get ugly sometimes. I’m just so impressed with the way that the volunteers handled themselves on this. They just appealed to us in a very civilised way.” Cr Steve Toms said he had changed his mind and vote after volunteers who staff the visitors centre approached him “based on their true love and commitment to the visitor information centre service that they provide at the Frankston foreshore. “I’m very happy at this turnaround by council.” Cr Glenn Aitken praised the volunteers’ personal touch when speaking to visitors to Frankston to promote the area to tourists. He and the mayor Cr Colin Hampton will join council officers on a subcommittee looking at ways to improve
With Neil Walker
the centre’s services and councillors will consider any changes in May. The Frankston Visitor Information Centre was inducted into the Australian Tourism Awards national hall of fame in 2015 after three consecutive gold award wins. “The best visitor information centre in the country stays,” Cr Mayer said.
Eye on creeping costs for green walls
Council will consider installing green walls, also known as vertical gardens, throughout central Frankston but only after finalising how much the initiative will cost ratepayers. The state government is already working with council to install a green wall in Young Street as part of the Frankston train station redevelopment project and councillors support more green walls in principle although some are concerned about the expense of green walls. A green wall at the Civic Centre will be scoped before a final decision is made to push ahead with the project. “Greening our city … is a wonderful thing that we need to do,” Cr Steve Toms said. Crs Kris Bolam and Glenn Aitken expressed surprised at a mooted $54,000 cost for one wall at the civic centre and said they believed a green wall could be installed for much less money. Council officers will now report back to councillors about specific costs for the green wall before its installation. Councillors will make a final decision at a future council meeting upon receipt of the report.
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Frankston Times
23 April 2018
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