After an incredible 43 years in medicine, 34 of them in Hawke’s Bay, one of our most highly respected clinical leaders and mentors, Dr John Gommans, is calling time on his career to spend more time with family and enjoy the great outdoors.
However, Dr Gommans told his colleagues he’d see them again after a long summer holiday as it was more a “staged retirement rather than going cold turkey”.
His colleagues say his leadership and guidance have supported them through their own career paths and led many to returning to Hawke’s Bay.
Dr Gommans became Clinical Director of Medicine in 2006 and in 2010 stepped up to become Chief Medical Officer until 2019.
Medical Director Dr David Gardner says: “John has always shown how much Hawke’s Bay and its community means to him and that commitment and role modelling has helped shape the culture within our team.
Chief Medical and Dental Officer Robin Wyman says Dr Gommans was the Chief Medical Officer through some challenging periods including working with a Commissioner and through periods of significant fiscal constraint.
“His focus on ensuring patient safety and the support of colleagues during this time was particularly notable. He was a colleague and mentor to many and encouraged senior doctors to take on leadership roles at many different levels.”
Dr Gommans also took on leadership roles outside of the organisation, including as President of the New Zealand Geriatrics Society in 2005/6 and Australasian President of the Internal Medicine Society 2012-14.
He says as a natural introvert, he never wanted to be leader, but was well organised and couldn’t ignore challenges when things needed changing so had no trouble taking on leadership roles.
“As a doctor you can help the people in front of you. When you become a leader and look at systems, quality and patient safety you can do more good for more people.
“At the core we’re still individual doctors and I still enjoy sitting at the bedside with a patient, chatting to their relatives and teaching junior doctors and nurses.”
Growing up on a Waikato dairy farm, Dr Gommans pursued a career in medicine, as his parents ensured he got an education they never had.
“My parents were Dutch immigrants, my mother left school at 12 to work and my father 15 because of the war, so they wanted me to have an education that they didn’t get.
“I chose medicine and loved it. I like having a breadth of experience so went on to work in General Medicine and Geriatric Medicine.”
Dr Gommans graduated medical school in 1980 and worked in Rotorua, Auckland and Wellington before spending four years as a Senior Registrar in Britain.
He was still overseas when he met, Alun Parry Jones, who was the Medical Superintendent in Chief for Hawke’s Bay.
“It was Easter and he took me for a walk over the farm and that was the job interview.”
He started working at both Napier and Hastings Hospitals in February 1989 and was later a proponent for the amalgamation of the hospitals to better serve the community.
Dr Gommans founded the first acute stroke unit in the country when Hawke’s Bay Hospital opened and jokes that he’s one of the grandfathers of stroke medicine in New Zealand. He’s been involved with the Stroke Foundation of New Zealand since the early 1990s and is currently chair of the board.
He says advances in medicine, and technology are especially evident in stroke medicine. In the last 50 years the death rate from stroke has reduced by about 75 percent. Scans can be sent between clinicians and tele-stroke is used so a Wellington-based neurologist can assess acute patients within minutes.
Technology has also enabled Dr Gommans to participate in dozens of clinical trials while working in Hawke’s Bay and he now has his name in more than 100 research papers.
He says, it will be the people he misses the most.
“I will miss the bedside interactions with patients, families and the team of junior doctors, nurses and therapists. I’ll also miss the collegiality of this place – Hawke’s Bay Hospital is the right size, big enough that we’ve almost got everything we need and you can still dial a friend if you need help.”
However, he will be back to lend a hand at times.
“I’m retiring but I’ve agreed to do some leave cover next year – stepping down rather than going cold turkey.”
Down-sizing the job will give him more time for tramping, trout fishing (location top secret), the beach at Mahia and spending time with his grandchildren.
The Hawke’s Bay team wish you all the best!
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