In her 38 years of nursing, Telarah woman Donita Pilton has never experienced a shift quite like the one she did in Newcastle last weekend.
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The John Hunter Hospital intensive care and Westpac Helicopter retrieval nurse was the only Maitland medic to secure a position with Team Medical Australia – the medical service provider to V8 Supercars events including last weekend’s Newcastle 500.
Never a motor sport fan, Donita is now converted and had such a great experience at the Newcastle event, she has her sights set on the Bathurst 12-hour in January.
Donita, who also works in the Hunter New England Simulation Centre training nurses, doctors and pharmacists, heard about the Supercars gig from one of her bosses, applied for the position on line and accepted the job a few hours later.
After some training, Donita spent three days track side, in the pits and on the track treating drivers and crew members in a specially set up trauma centre. The voluntary work was invaluable she said – with the highlight speeding around the track in the medical car to treat injured drivers.
“On Sunday we had to sit in the car at corner of Zaara and Scott streets while it was idling, balaclava, gloves, seat belts on, waiting to be called to accidents,” she said. “It was so exciting when we were screaming around the track . We went to two major accidents leading up to the Supercars and had to remove two injured drivers from cars.
“On Friday and Saturday I spent time in the medical centre or on pit lane where you’re in full fire retardant gear to treat drivers, crew, and drivers who have crashed but made it back into pit lane,” Donita said.
She said the medical centre was a fully functional emergency department with doctors and nurses, located at the finish line. “I wasn’t interested in motor sport but my husband Michael is and all the doctors and nurses there were petrol heads, so I think I have turned into one now.”
Donita said that over the three days between 50 and 60 patients were treated. “The highlight was definitely zipping around the track in the medical car to an accident, not knowing what to expect.
“I learnt so much – about extricating people from cars after an accident. I do secondary retrievals going from hospital to hospital so being exposed to motor vehicle accident trauma at the scene and working as a team with ambulance, police and security was just amazing.”
In another local connection to the big race Kurri's David Boyce proposed to Metford's Zoe Brown at the event on Sunday. Dressed in their Supercars supporter gear, Zoe of course said yes after David got down on one knee in the pit walk.
