“I open at 4.30 am and close when I run out of patients …” What drivesDeb Garvey, sole medical practitioner in the Waterline community?
By Catherine Watson
IT WAS Joy Button who told me about Deb Garvey. I knew she was the nurse practitioner for the Waterline community, operating out of the Grantville Transaction Centre. I didn’t know much more.
Joy told me Deb gets to work long before dawn so that truck drivers and others can call in on their way to work. “They’d never get to see a doctor or nurse otherwise.
“She bulk bills, which a lot of young mums appreciate. You can make an appointment or just call in and wait. She’ll always see you. I think she’s the most highly respected person in the whole of the Waterline.”
IT WAS Joy Button who told me about Deb Garvey. I knew she was the nurse practitioner for the Waterline community, operating out of the Grantville Transaction Centre. I didn’t know much more.
Joy told me Deb gets to work long before dawn so that truck drivers and others can call in on their way to work. “They’d never get to see a doctor or nurse otherwise.
“She bulk bills, which a lot of young mums appreciate. You can make an appointment or just call in and wait. She’ll always see you. I think she’s the most highly respected person in the whole of the Waterline.”
When Deb opened her practice in 2010 she was the only medical practitioner in the Waterline area. The Wonthaggi Medical Centre established an outpost at Grantville for several years but it closed in 2024 and Deb is once again the only medical practitioner.
I emailed Deb to ask if I could interview her for the Post to mark her first 15 years. She replied and said she’d rather not, but I could send some questions. I noticed her email was sent at 3.30am.
You will see from Deb’s answers that she is a woman of few words, but they are like gold.
I emailed Deb to ask if I could interview her for the Post to mark her first 15 years. She replied and said she’d rather not, but I could send some questions. I noticed her email was sent at 3.30am.
You will see from Deb’s answers that she is a woman of few words, but they are like gold.
Bass Coast Post: Can you describe your working hours?
Deb Garvey: My hours / days in Grantville – I open at 4.30 am and close when I run out of patients. I work in Grantville Monday, Tuesday, Thursday & Fridays. I work at Tarwin Lower on Wednesday, and do phone calls on Saturdays
Post: Why do you work such long hours?
Deb: I work the hours because I believe health care should be accessible.
Post: Why Grantville?
Deb: Originally chose both here and Corinella but settled in Grantville due to the central locality and the need for healthcare.
Post: You’re once again the sole medical practitioner operating in the Waterline area.
What sort of pressure does that put on you?
Deb: When you believe in what you do, it’s hard to think of it in terms of pressure. I’m passionate about what I do, and the community is a great supportive community and a privilege to work here.
Post: You used to manage the ED at Wonthaggi. Do you handle emergencies at Grantville? Or is it more run of the mill?
Deb: I am Emergency, Coronary Care and Intensive Care trained. Yes I occasionally get emergencies present to the clinic which I deal with at the time.
Post: Does the Waterline community have particular health challenges? I would imagine you have a younger patient list than the rest of Bass Coast.
Deb: Age demographics are varied from birth to elderly. The biggest challenge is the geographical isolation and lack of public transport.
Post: What’s the difference between a nurse and a nurse practitioner? And why did you
decide to change the focus of your career?
Deb: Nurse practitioners title is protected by law. We can work independently. We can prescribe medication, order most pathology and xrays, ultrasounds, lung screening CT scans and refer to specialists, our referrals last 12 months, the same as a GP’s, nurses do not have this ability under the law.
Post: The training sounds arduous. Did you ever contemplate becoming a doctor?
Deb: Thought about it at one time, passed the GAMSAT test but decided to stay on the nurse practitioner path as I found it more flexible than that of medicine.
Post: Your list of qualifications is extraordinary. Where did you fit in the time for study while working full time and raising your family?
Deb: I have spent a long time studying, many early mornings and late nights. You make it work if it’s what you want to do.
Post: What can you do as a nurse practitioner? And what can’t you do?
Deb: We can:
Work independently & collaboratively.
Order most pathology.
Order most Xrays.
Order most ultrasounds. Refer to specialists.
Some procedures
We can’t:
Refer to allied health, unless it is into a hospital allied health.
Refer for CT scans unless it is for lung screening in people between 50 & 70.
Sign off on health management plans, or mental health plans.
We don’t get any incentive payments, nor are we entitled to any grants.
Post: What’s most satisfying about your job? What’s the most frustrating?
Deb: The most satisfying is the ability and privilege of working in communities where I can make a difference to people.
Most frustrating thing is not having a level playing field with medicine, such as not having full access to the ordering of all diagnostic tests or the ability to refer to private allied health, or have access to Work Cover, TAC, access to grants.
Post: What are the advantages and the disadvantages of being your own boss?
Deb: Advantages are:
Being your own boss.
Choosing your own hours.
Offering the services you feel would benefit the community.
Flexibility.
Disadvantages are:
You are either 100% invested or not.
Whether successful or not totally depends on you, it’s all on you.
You have to work really hard as there is no government support to assist with the financial pressure of owning/running a business.
Post: Are there any changes or improvements you would like to see in local medical services?
Deb: I would like to set up a health hub here in Grantville. Somewhere where the community can come, see a NP / GP / visiting specialists.
Post: One of your patients described you as “the most highly respected person in the whole of the Waterline”.
Deb: I feel really humbled and privileged to be able to work in a community that is supportive of what I am trying to provide.
Deb Garvey: My hours / days in Grantville – I open at 4.30 am and close when I run out of patients. I work in Grantville Monday, Tuesday, Thursday & Fridays. I work at Tarwin Lower on Wednesday, and do phone calls on Saturdays
Post: Why do you work such long hours?
Deb: I work the hours because I believe health care should be accessible.
Post: Why Grantville?
Deb: Originally chose both here and Corinella but settled in Grantville due to the central locality and the need for healthcare.
Post: You’re once again the sole medical practitioner operating in the Waterline area.
What sort of pressure does that put on you?
Deb: When you believe in what you do, it’s hard to think of it in terms of pressure. I’m passionate about what I do, and the community is a great supportive community and a privilege to work here.
Post: You used to manage the ED at Wonthaggi. Do you handle emergencies at Grantville? Or is it more run of the mill?
Deb: I am Emergency, Coronary Care and Intensive Care trained. Yes I occasionally get emergencies present to the clinic which I deal with at the time.
Post: Does the Waterline community have particular health challenges? I would imagine you have a younger patient list than the rest of Bass Coast.
Deb: Age demographics are varied from birth to elderly. The biggest challenge is the geographical isolation and lack of public transport.
Post: What’s the difference between a nurse and a nurse practitioner? And why did you
decide to change the focus of your career?
Deb: Nurse practitioners title is protected by law. We can work independently. We can prescribe medication, order most pathology and xrays, ultrasounds, lung screening CT scans and refer to specialists, our referrals last 12 months, the same as a GP’s, nurses do not have this ability under the law.
Post: The training sounds arduous. Did you ever contemplate becoming a doctor?
Deb: Thought about it at one time, passed the GAMSAT test but decided to stay on the nurse practitioner path as I found it more flexible than that of medicine.
Post: Your list of qualifications is extraordinary. Where did you fit in the time for study while working full time and raising your family?
Deb: I have spent a long time studying, many early mornings and late nights. You make it work if it’s what you want to do.
Post: What can you do as a nurse practitioner? And what can’t you do?
Deb: We can:
Work independently & collaboratively.
Order most pathology.
Order most Xrays.
Order most ultrasounds. Refer to specialists.
Some procedures
We can’t:
Refer to allied health, unless it is into a hospital allied health.
Refer for CT scans unless it is for lung screening in people between 50 & 70.
Sign off on health management plans, or mental health plans.
We don’t get any incentive payments, nor are we entitled to any grants.
Post: What’s most satisfying about your job? What’s the most frustrating?
Deb: The most satisfying is the ability and privilege of working in communities where I can make a difference to people.
Most frustrating thing is not having a level playing field with medicine, such as not having full access to the ordering of all diagnostic tests or the ability to refer to private allied health, or have access to Work Cover, TAC, access to grants.
Post: What are the advantages and the disadvantages of being your own boss?
Deb: Advantages are:
Being your own boss.
Choosing your own hours.
Offering the services you feel would benefit the community.
Flexibility.
Disadvantages are:
You are either 100% invested or not.
Whether successful or not totally depends on you, it’s all on you.
You have to work really hard as there is no government support to assist with the financial pressure of owning/running a business.
Post: Are there any changes or improvements you would like to see in local medical services?
Deb: I would like to set up a health hub here in Grantville. Somewhere where the community can come, see a NP / GP / visiting specialists.
Post: One of your patients described you as “the most highly respected person in the whole of the Waterline”.
Deb: I feel really humbled and privileged to be able to work in a community that is supportive of what I am trying to provide.