“You can be ruthless and efficient and be seen as a very good doctor from that perspective, but you’re not actually following the mandate a doctor should have: to care,” van Dalen said.
“It’s more than just going and operating, it’s about having empathy for that person.”
Dempsey said practice in Whanganui tended to be very personal compared to a big city, as in a small town, you were constantly bumping into people outside the medical environment.
“The people you’re operating on tend to be your neighbours, friends, or parents of your kid’s friends at school,” Dempsey said.
“If you go and sit down at a restaurant you can usually spot two or three people that have been your patients.”
Dempsey was heavily involved in the re-opening and development of Belverdale Hospital — a private surgical hospital in Whanganui — after the closure of the Southern Cross Hospital in 2000.
Both surgeons had enjoyed overseeing the training of young surgeons at Whanganui Hospital, which has been part of the national training scheme for the past 15 years.
“We are blessed by the bright, young people who come to our hospital,” Dempsey said.
Over the past 15 years, Van Dalen has overseen the introduction of artworks to the Whanganui Hospital corridors alongside Ailsa Stewart and the Whanganui North Rotary.
He had also witnessed the orthopaedic department grow to now have four consultants and four registrars.
Performing trauma surgeries in Tonga
Alongside his career at Whanganui Hospital, van Dalen has been working to help improve the orthopaedic surgical service in Tonga.
He said the Whanganui North Rotary Club had been instrumental in raising funds to allow the purchasing of equipment and upgrading of operating theatres at Vaiola hospital in Nuku’alofa.
“It’s completely different. The South Pacific needs support for medical services, but it takes money, resources and better expertise.
“It’s rewarding because you’re improving a service which is set up the way ours was 30-50 years ago — but they only live three hours away.”
A noticeable difference was the increased amount of trauma surgeries performed in Tonga due to poorly-manufactured cars.
In New Zealand, trauma surgeries have lessened due to developments in the safety of road vehicles. For example, the addition of airbags.
“By and large, the fractures and the traumas are not as bad because of AVs and airbags, and increased passing lanes,” van Dalen said.
“The road toll was double to three times what is now, and back then, we were really busy dealing with that.”
He had worked with Dr Tevita Tu’ungafasi, a Tongan general surgeon, who was currently working at Whanganui Hospital and would return to Tonga next year.
How has surgery changed?
Dempsey felt he had witnessed a steady evolution of change during his time as an orthopedic surgeon rather than sudden, startling changes.
X-rays were now all able to be accessed on a computer, which made collaboration with other doctors far easier. Patients’ details also no longer needed to be stored in hefty, physical files.
Advancements in MRI technology had also made it much easier to diagnose conditions.
Van Dalen said some people still “thought they were God”, and it was important for patients to be committed to exercise and strength-training to improve surgical outcomes.
There were also those times when operating on a patient would not be the best thing for the person, and instead, surgeons had to help them to live with disabilities.
Dempsey said management changes in the health system and hospital seemed “to come and go”, but their core work had remained the same.
“The huge growth seems to be in management, and we have a very large superstructure now... but I suspect if half of it disappeared we could continue.
“I think you can see quite clearly the bureaucracy has become incredibly embedded, and it’s difficult to get that to change.”
Van Dalen said surgeons made a lot of sacrifices due to the intensity of call work, which had impacted both of their families, but was the tough reality of the job.
“There is no payment for time spent with family and loved ones.”
Both Dempsey and van Dalen said they had built up friendships and shared many laughs with patients over their years at Whanganui Hospital.
Eva de Jong is a reporter for the Whanganui Chronicle covering health stories and general news. She began as a reporter in 2023.
