23/12/2024
*LONG POST - Please read*
Bunbury Family Doctors is officially closed for 2024! Dr Brendan O'Dea and Nicole O'Dea would like to thank all our hardworking staff for their efforts this year - the place would not run without our fantastic team!
It has been a massive year - we have celebrated our 1 year anniversary of the clinic opening, we have become an accredited GP clinic with the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (a huge achievement for a new GP practice) and we have welcomed new Bunbury Family Doctors team members - Dr Lara Jackson, Dr Anita Pratt, Registered Nurse Yvonne and our hardworking receptionist Sacha.
We would also like to thank Dr Lauren Gibson from the bottom of our hearts for her dedication and ability to maintain her sense of humour throughout the year, especially when we were short staffed and the risk of burnout was high. Thank you also for holding down the fort so that Dr O'Dea could take a much-needed week-long family holiday. Lauren - you are a superstar! We cannot imagine Bunbury Family Doctors without you.
Thank you to our dedicated team that have shown resilience as the practice grows and changes.
Our receptionist Kellie has been with us from the start and helped us navigate 'front of house' and endured all the changes we have made to improve our service. Kel is our resident event decorator and keeps all our plants happy and healthy.
Sharlene is our pharmacy guru who works diligently and is always ready with a joke to lighten the mood.
Sacha joined us early this year when we had more patients than appointments! A tough scenario for a receptionist but Sacha's professionalism never wavered and her work ethic and medical reception experience shone through.
Dr Angela Lovell for her time at BFD before going on maternity leave. We were in awe of your calm demeanour whilst juggling medicine, parenthood and pregnancy. We eagerly await your return to BFD in the near future.
Our bookkeeper, Suzanne is invaluable to the team and we are so lucky to have her on board. (Nicole would be lost without you!)
We would also like to thank Nurse Helen who helped us on numerous occasions at short notice ensuring patient care was maintained.
Lastly, Brendan and Nicole are forever indebted to Nurse Mel and receptionist Emma (Efficient Em) for their commitment in helping ensure BFD became an accredited GP practice this year. The positive feedback we received on the day of our site visit was due to countless hours spent "dotting the i's and crossing the t's" to prove that we are serious about providing high quality care. Thank you, ladies!
Finally, thank you to our family and friends that have helped us out this year. From helping with school pick-up, providing advice and reassuring us that we are doing okay. We are looking forward to catching up with you all over the Christmas break. Also, to our beautiful children who have spent countless hours at the clinic or hearing about the clinic. We love you both to the moon and back!
And of course, thank you to our loyal patients that have stuck with us, even when the wait times for appointments were long. We are honoured that you trust us with your health and we look forward to caring for you for many more years to come.
- Dr Brendan and Nicole O'Dea
