Dr Pratha

Michelle Salisbury and Garrett Douglas caught up with Denmark GP Dr ‘Pratha’ Prathalingam to hear about his life story and some lessons he has learnt along the way.

Tell us about yourself

I was born in Colombo Sri Lanka. My Dad was a zoologist and mother a teacher. My Dad was later a professor of zoology in Sudan, which meant I spent a lot of my undergraduate holidays there. Back in those days to be able to go between Africa and Sri Lanka you had to go through Europe. I also had family that was educated in England so it was always the case that I would go there for University.

The degree of medicine I got into at the University College London was very selective with an intake of only 24 in the clinical years. Because of this there was a very high expectation placed on us. I was lucky enough to go to the only University that didn’t have holidays. We were required to work 7 days a week for 44 weeks a year. With our exams if you got one question wrong you failed, and we were only given two chances at the exams. With the system as it was, we were required to do the first exam for medicine. Depending on the results of the first exam some of us were awarded a scholarship to do a degree in science and I was one of the scholars. After I completed my degree, I went onto the teacher staff where I lectured and also did some surgery for 4 years.

I then moved to Zambia and worked in a mine hospital for 12 years. For 9 of those years, I was in charge of a 106 bed hospital that covered everything from maternity to surgery.

Following my time in Zambia I then moved to Swaziland (now known as Eswatini). Fun fact, Swaziland is the largest producer of chopsticks in the world. There I worked as a general practitioner including to the royal family of Swaziland (Pratha has such great stories from this). My time in Africa also saw me become the first doctor to diagnose patients with HIV in 2 countries.

In 1999 I moved to Australia to work in Denmark after I was sponsored by Rural Health West to bring more doctors to the country. There was some adjusting going from fully equipped hospitals to a small country town where things just take longer. There is no 24 hour x-ray and my opportunity to do surgery was limited. I have enjoyed my time here with my wife Thanga. We have 2 children who both live in the UK - a son who works at a hospital in Newcastle who recently got married and a daughter who lives in Cambridge.

What is the most challenging role of a GP?

‘Getting it right’.

The symptoms that a patient presents with can be the same for 3 or 4 illnesses. I find the challenge is to get it right, to really look into the entire picture and treat the patient in entirety. I think the art of medicine is more important than the science of medicine. What I mean by this is a Doctor must be able to read his patient. This is what I always keep in my mind - ‘is the story the actual story or is it a means to see a Doctor’.

A farmer brought in kicking and screaming by his wife who says his toe hurts. But is there more to the story? Is there more that needs to treated than a bleeding toe? Someone can so easily be dismissed.

I learnt this in my training at a clinical school. The professor there insisted we tell him about the actual person the patient is after a consultation, not just the symptoms that were presented. He also taught us to be compassionate and considerate of a person’s background so that they can clearly understand you. In this clinical school we had slum victims coming in for treatment. Most of them were semi-literate and did not understand proper academic English. We had to make sure we spoke at the patient’s level. 

My passion, in particular, is treating young men and farmers – I see these consultations as an opportunity to ensure their whole health is addressed. Let’s face it, it usually takes a lot for a male to admit pain or even a problem. So if they come in to see me, I make sure I ‘get it right’.

How has the role of a GP changed over the years?

Not a great deal in terms of the GP role itself, I am still a confidant of the patient and I usually know about their background and family history.

What has changed is the vast number of legal documents that need to be drawn up and filled out. I find this a very difficult change as I see that the human touch is lost through this process. For example, it used to be if a patient was near the end of their lives, I would have a conversation with them to determine their wishes.  Do you want to be resuscitated, do you want pain relief etc. Now legal documents need to be prepared and lengthy legal conversations need to be had.

What advice would you give to a younger self?

Don’t be idealistic – remember to be realistic.

I worked in an African country where the mothers were persuaded by a multinational company that powered milk was better than breast milk. But because they could not afford the powder in the quantities they should have given to their babies, they made a week’s worth last a month. Then these mothers also saw the western children eating sweet cakes and drinking sodas. They had no idea that these western children also ate good meals at home, so they thought that diet would make their children healthy. Over the years this resulted in severe and widespread malnutrition in the community. My idealistic self came up with a solution - I got the funding for a kitchen, set it up and had the intention of teaching these mothers how to cook nutritious meals on a budget.

The multinational that originally started the cycle soon put an end to my program and so the cycle of malnutrition continued and the multinational profited.

What originally got you into medicine?

On my first week of school we were asked by my teacher what we wanted to be. Everyone else said fireman or something along those lines, but I knew I wanted to be a doctor. I wasn’t particularly good at school and was usually at the bottom of my class. So when I asked my principal if I could do science as a subject he was reluctant, but he agreed saying I wouldn’t do anything with it anyway. Getting to do something I enjoyed meant I quickly went from the bottom of the class to the top and here I am today.

Visit

Denmark Medical Centre
Unit 3, 3 Mount Shadforth Rd, Denmark, WA, 6333

Phone: 08 9848 4111
Email: admin@denmarkmedicalcentre.com.au
Web: http://www.denmarkmedicalcentre.com.au