Chathams doctor enjoys challenges

Press, 21 February 1986, Page 25

Chathams doctor enjoys challenges

Treating two sick horses and an ailing dog during his first week of medical practice on the Chatham Islands was nothing new for Dr David Edwards-Moss.

During a two-year stint on the Falkland Islands from 1983 to 1985, Dr Edwards-Moss had to treat several animals as well as his human patients. Improvising and doing a vet’s job is all part of the challenge of working on isolated islands which Dr Edwards-Moss thrives on.

“I like the greater range of work and the challenges it brings,” he said.

While there were many similarities, weather, roads, and communication with the mainland were much better in the Chatham Islands than the Falklands. “The Falklands were just a neglected spot at the bottom of the world until the conflict,” said Dr Edwards-Moss.

Although having spent only two weeks on the Chathams, he expects medical problems to be similar to those faced by Falklanders. Introduced infectious diseases spread more quickly on remote islands because people had less

time to build up resistance to disease,* he said.

Dr Edwards-Moss trained in England before going to the Falklands, one year after the war between Britain and Argentina. The war had changed much on the islands, including the range of medical services available. "They improved dramatically and often it was quicker to get an operation on the Falklands than back home,” he said. A “flying doctor” service is run from Port Stanley, providing medical services for people on inland farms and outlying islands. Regular military flights from the Falklands to Britain also ensured that urgent cases could quickly get the treatment needed.