We caught up with one of our Blugibbon Locum Doctors in Alice Springs to hear her thoughts on the location for locuming. She spent a week locuming in Alice Springs Hospital so was able to provide us with some valuable insights!

How did you settle in? Any tips for new arrivals?

Settling in was not too difficult. The orientation was good, it covered the basics needed to get to work and wasn't overloaded with unnecessary details. People here are very approachable so just ask questions as you go.

How was the travel, logistics and accommodation for your placement at Alice Springs Hospital?

I drove down from Darwin. The road is good, even in the wet season just after the floods. It was a long but easy drive and there were enough other cars on the road to not feel too isolated. Just make sure you check road reports before you go as there's not much reception along the way.

I stayed at the Quest in a one bedroom apartment. It was clean, amenities were provided, serviced daily, and had a full kitchen and laundry facilities in the room. There is also a shared laundry for anyone in a studio apartment.

There is secure parking on site which often fills up towards the end of the day. There is overflow parking next door but this is only available when the reception staff are there to open the gates. If you tell the reception staff in advance about any late shifts they will organise a reserved car park space for you. The hospital is an easy ten minute walk away, however I felt better driving there if it was late at night.

What was the support for locum doctors like in the department?

The support was good. During the day there are FACEMs present to help with anything needed and there is always one on call overnight as well. Everyone was approachable and happy to help.

What specialists were on call? How was access to imaging etc?

During the day all of the specialities are available. For the specialities that don't exist here, there are designated teams in Darwin or SA to call. Overnight the medical registrar, paediatric doctor, and O&G doctor are available and on site.

All surgical problems overnight go via general surgery, and this team is only available if surgical input can't wait until morning. There is also an ICU doctor and a retrievals doctor on site overnight. Xray and CT are available until midnight each day, any time after that they need to be called in. UltraSound is available on weekdays. To call in anyone overnight you need to speak to the ED consultant on call first, who will support the call in or help with an alternative plan.

On average, how many presentations were there to the ED each day? How many were you dealing with?

It was quite variable day to day, it wasn't unusual to see an empty waiting room, other days there was a steady flow of patients and always someone waiting to be seen. Registrars see patients but also help out supervising juniors, so again the number of patients I directly managed would vary each day. It never felt overwhelmingly busy while I was there.

What were the best spots in town for food, coffee & shopping? Share with us your favourites!

Bella Alice (pizza / pasta) and Loco Burrito were my fave food spots. I had a Woolworths delivery waiting on arrival which worked out well if you're arriving late and starting work early the next day. Quest also offer a pick up service for basic groceries but I didn't try that this time.

Any local inside information we should know about? Best swimming spots, lookouts, bike or walk trails?

The national park to the west is an interesting place if you have a day to go for a drive. I especially liked the ochre pits, Serpentine Gorge, and any of the gaps which have nice little water holes. The bird show at the animal park is also worth going to see.

Would you go back? If so, why? Would you recommend the location?

I would go back. The hospital had an interesting array of cases that you might not see in other places, but was not too busy, so it was a nice working environment. People were friendly and helpful making it easy to fit in as a short term locum. The accommodation was great. The surrounding area seems interesting with some beautiful spots and would love to explore it more.

Did you take any nice pictures of Alice Springs during your time there that you would like to share?

Yes! I have a couple of pics of some of the surrounding places:

• One of the gaps
  
• The ochre pits
  
• Top of the walk at Serpentine Gorge