A broken neck but a strong system
Amplar Health is part of the Medibank group. This article was originally posted on the Medibank website. This is an excerpt only and the full article can be viewed here.
Published in The Australian today, this powerful piece by Bill Bowtell AO offers a personal account from one of Australia’s most respected health policy strategists — not in his usual role as an advisor or policymaker, but as a patient.
Following a serious spinal injury earlier this year, Bill shares his six-month journey through the health systems of New Zealand and Australia, including his time as a Medibank customer and Amplar Health patient. His story is a compelling reflection on the care he received beyond hospital walls, and a reflection of the health transition we’re witnessing in Australia— one that reimagines how we deliver care in the home and community, not just in hospitals.
A broken neck but a strong system. Bill Bowtell, AO
In the emergency room at Christchurch Hospital, the doctor stitched up the deep gash on my forehead, sent me for a CAT scan and delivered the results: “You’ve broken your neck.”
On January 2, I had been reading on a garden bench at one of New Zealand’s most idyllic country properties about two hours by road from Christchurch. As I stood up, I stumbled on a shallow step. I attempted to regain my balance but pitched head-first into the jagged rock wall of a nearby garden planter. As I rebounded from the collision, I flipped my body so that I landed on my back rather than face down. This instinctual decision probably saved my life.
My friend David saw me fall. As he arrived to help, I knew I had done serious damage, but thankfully I wiggled my fingers and toes, relieved I hadn’t severed my spine. Recalling the recent documentary on Superman Christopher Reeve’s accident, I knew how critical the first minutes were after a serious blow to the neck.
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Bill Bowtell AO is one of Australia’s leading health policy strategists, was a senior adviser to former prime minister Paul Keating, and helped to deliver Australia’s groundbreaking HIV/AIDS response.