The North West Hospital and Health Service has lost one of its most valuable veteran staffers to retirement.
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Dr Peter Radford, who is a Senior Medical Officer at the Mount Isa hospital, is retiring today after an almost 50-year medical career.
Dr Radford has worked in the Mount Isa Emergency Department for seven years. Previously he was a GP in Benalla, Victoria for almost 40 years, and those GP skills were invaluable in the Mount Isa ED.
Nicknamed the "King of Skin" his GP experience with different skin complaints earned him that title, and any dermatology cases were usually moved in his direction.
He and his wife will retire to their a 35-acre property near Mount Kosciuszko, called "Tom Groggin", at Tom Groggin Station. where the manager, Jack Riley, was thought to be the inspiration for Banjo Paterson's poem, the man from Snowy River.
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Dr Radford said he loved his time working in the Mount Isa ED, saying that his part-time work here has helped "ease him into retirement."
"I've performed over 500 anaesthetics; delivered over 500 babies. A few times, I've actually delivered two generations of babies. I delivered two girls when they were babies, and then delivered their babies over 20 years later," he said.
"It's been a great life."
To farewell him Dr Radford's colleagues presented him with a caricature that depicts him wearing his famous trade-mark bow tie, his life at home on his farm with his pet Kelpie "Ted" and the scooter he always rides into work.
Dr Radford said the cartoon would take pride of place in his home, and that it will remind him of his time in Mount Isa.
"I am humbled. Thanks to everyone who contributed. I really feel that I am just another worker who turns up to do my job as part of a team, and I am privileged to have been able to contribute," he said.
Dr Radford's daughter Rosie has decided to follow in her father's footsteps and has recently accepted a position at the Mount Isa Hospital as a Senior Medical Officer.
With the COVID-19 pandemic putting a damper on retirement celebrations, Dr Radford says he hopes to return to Mount Isa in December to visit Rosie and catch up with his previous colleagues who have now become friends.
He hopes that by then the social distancing measures will be lifted, so he can say goodbye properly and be able to give everyone a big hug.
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