King’s Birthday and Coronation Honours 2023: Whakaari/White Island hero recognised for services to burns care

When the lead burns surgeon responsible for managing the Whakaari/White Island eruption victims found out he had been awarded a King’s Birthday Honour, he felt “a whole flood of emotions” - including imposter syndrome.

Dr Richard Wong She has today been appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to burns care.

The Middlemore Hospital plastic, reconstructive and burns surgeon said he felt “complete disbelief” upon finding out.

After it dawned upon him that the appointment was real, he felt “honoured and humbled” along with imposter syndrome and “deep fulfilment”.

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“It’s really nice that something I’ve been striving for for so many years should be recognised,” he told the Bay of Plenty Times.

Wong She has previously spoken to the Herald about the horror and emotional toll that treating victims of Whakaari took on him and his team.

The Herald also reported burn surgeons working 14-hour days to treat the victims.

An aerial view of Whakaari/White Island after it erupted on December 9, 2019. Photo / George Novak

Wong She was the inaugural clinical leader of the New Zealand National Burn Service, consisting of three regional burns units at Christchurch Hospital, Hutt Hospital and Waikato Hospital, and the National Burn Centre at Middlemore Hospital, Auckland, where he was the clinical lead until February 2023.

He has been instrumental in establishing and maintaining the National Burn Service since its launch in 2006, collaborating with colleagues, hospital management and government officials to develop a highly respected service that has seen significant improvements in both outcomes and survival.

Wong She is the chair of the Australian and New Zealand Burn Association emergency management of severe burns course and has helped develop and deliver it nationally and internationally.

He is active in training with the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, including nine years as a supervisor of training for plastic surgery at Middlemore Hospital.

Wong She also helped develop the National Health Emergency Response plan for a mass casualty burns disaster.

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He was the lead burns surgeon responsible for managing the victims of the Whakaari/White Island volcanic eruption on December 9 2019, which killed 22 people.

Wong She said Whaakari represented a culmination of his work prior to the eruption.

“If you think about all those things being put together... that allowed New Zealand as a whole to care for all of those patients that came from Whaakari.”

Wong She said Whakaari tested himself and his team “right to the limit”.

However, “I can tell you that every single patient that we treated in Whakaari and every other patient that we had already in the hospital got everything that they needed.

“We compromised on nothing for those patients.”

Wong She said the normal survival rate from an eruption similar to Whakaari was five to 10 per cent.

“And we had about a 50 per cent survival rate.

“To have that sort of positive success needed all those building blocks to be put into place.”

Wong She said he learned from Whakaari that “actually, I’m not alone”.

“We’re capable of really great things when we work together. And that when push comes to shove, we will all work together.

“Although it’s me on the list... in reality, I’m accepting this [honour] on behalf of a number of people,” he said.

“It’s never just an individual that has made things work, but in fact, a whole team. And I’m incredibly proud of the team and all the work that’s been done.”

Speaking generally about his role, Wong She said he was responsible for “life-threatening” burns injuries.

“If you think about a burn injury, they can be quite devastating. And so then comes the other side - you want to give someone a life worth living.

“And those were the reasons I went into medicine in the first place and it’s really pleasing to find a career where I can actually manage to do something that I love and just happen to be paid for at the same time.

“We rebuild bodies to restore lives and that’s what we’re trying to do.”