Peninsula Health’s new Clinical Director of Emergency, Dr Gabriel Blecher, has a rich background in both emergency medicine and business management, bringing a unique and diverse set of skills to the role.
This isn’t Dr Blecher’s first time working at Peninsula Health – in fact it was during his time working as a locum at Rosebud Hospital that he first discovered his passion for emergency medicine.
“After completing my studies, I practised medicine for a couple of years, but wasn’t sold on it, as I couldn’t find an area that excited me,” recalls Dr Blecher.
“During this period, I did a business management degree whilst also undergoing a locum down at Rosebud Hospital, where I stumbled upon emergency medicine.” There are many aspects of emergency medicine that Dr Blecher enjoys.
“As I’m sure any emergency worker could tell you, every day is vastly different from the day prior, you never know how it will pan out or what you’ll see, from newborns to geriatrics, minor to life-threatening incidents,” explains Dr Blecher
“The fast-paced environment demands us to think quickly, but also gives us the opportunity to connect with a large portion of our community to ensure we’re properly caring for their health and wellbeing.”
Dr Blecher joins Peninsula Health from Monash Health, where he worked as an Emergency Physician before being appointed as their Deputy Director of Emergency. Prior to that he also worked in Ottawa, Canada, where he undertook a research fellowship in clinical epidemiology.
With the Frankston Hospital redevelopment underway, Dr Blecher says one of the most exciting aspects of this build, for him, is the addition of a Paediatric Emergency Department.
“We know that paediatric patients should be cared for in a paediatric environment; they need their own waiting room and space that’s paediatric friendly as well as being seen by trained paediatric nurses,” explains Dr Blecher.
“Peninsula Health has some excellent paediatric nurse educators who will be able to upskill our staff to give them the proper skillset to work with children, which is great for both our community and our staffing cohort.”
Dr Blecher is also an educator and researcher at Monash University as a Senior adjunct lecturer. His research interests include point-of-care ultrasound, telehealth and reducing low-value care.