Lumen Spring 2021 - Flipbook - Page 9
“My father was an infectious disease
physician and he taught medical students.
And so, when I started at the University of
Adelaide’s Medical School – pointing out
my sister got in the year before – it would
be mum, dad and the two girls driving into
Adelaide all together.
“I think those years at medical school were
just wonderful.”
Professor Spurrier made the decision to
practice dual specialities in paediatrics –
in which she trained at the Women’s and
Children’s Hospital – and public health
following a fortuitous meeting with Australian
epidemiologist Professor Fiona Stanley.
“She gave a lecture to the paediatric registrars
about evidence-based medicine and was
talking about preventing things happening
and not just assuming that everybody had
to get sick, and it was from that point that
I decided I wanted to look at how I could
prevent people getting ill and not just treating
people who ended up in hospital.”
A PhD at the University of Adelaide – on
parental management of childhood asthma
– was followed by a ten year appointment as
a Clinical Academic at Flinders University’s
Department of Paediatrics and Child Health.
An opportunity arose in 2008 to take up a
consultant position as the Department of
Health's Public Health Physician.
“People don’t want their loved ones to get
sick. So not only are we talking about a
whole population, but we’re looking at all
the policies, interventions, whether that’s
immunisation or whether that’s looking at
the changes of law around termination of
pregnancy, all of these things prevent people
getting sick,’’ Professor Spurrier said.
While the state had a pandemic plan before
any of us had even heard of COVID-19,
Professor Spurrier admits it’s impossible to be
100% sure of what lies ahead at the beginning
of an outbreak.
“While we were somewhat prepared and
we thought about pandemics and we had
a pandemic preparedness plan and such,
nobody in the world really envisaged how
huge it was going to be,’’ she said.
“But we had a very insightful video lecture
from Dr Bruce Aylward leading the
World Health Organization's investigation
into China. And he said to us, ‘Do not
underestimate this virus. It is terrible. And
if you can do something about stopping it
getting in, do everything you possibly can’.
“And then we were starting to get text
messages from colleagues, ICU to ICU, from
Italy saying, ‘This is like the apocalypse. Don’t
underestimate this. This is absolutely terrible’.
So, we went on and did something about it,”
said Professor Spurrier.
Well used to media after more than a year of
press conferences, Professor Spurrier said the
public’s impression of her confidence in the
face of the pandemic was a true reflection of
what she felt during this time.
“I can’t say I’ve been scared (during the
pandemic). I had real confidence that the
hospital system would have an ability to
deal with patients. I had real confidence in
the South Australian government that we
would manage it together, and I had a lot of
confidence in the community that we would
get through it.”
And those ever-present critics who think,
despite it all, that local public health responses
were too restrictive?
“There’s a very cute little cartoon of Pooh and
Piglet,’’ Professor Spurrier said.
“Piglet says to Pooh, ‘Pooh, how will we
know if our pandemic plan is working?’ And
Pooh says to Piglet, ‘Because they’ll all say
we overreacted’. And Piglet says, ‘So, does
that mean when we’re right, everyone will say
we’re wrong?’ And Pooh said, ‘Welcome to
public health, Piglet’.
“But I think people will learn from this. I think
the world will learn from this. And there are
things we might want to keep for the future.
The improvement in people’s hand hygiene,
not going to work when you’re sick, getting
tested if you’re ill, staying away from other
people. Those sorts of things have resulted in,
not only a reduction in COVID-19, but also a
reduction in other respiratory illnesses.”
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Professor Nicola Spurrier in
front of the Twin Street mural
by artist 10TKL, Adelaide.
LEFT
Professor Nicola Spurrier.
ALUMNI MAGAZINE - SPRING 2021
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