And we were caring for a lot of those people who were injured. So in the 2019 to 2020 bushfires, the population exploded because of all the emergency services workers that came in or (Country Fire Authority) CFA and extra (Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning) DELWP. So, it's mainly a farming community, but the population escalates over summer, especially if there's bushfires. And when people leave this area, they do say to us, "Wow, we didn't realise what we actually had until we moved to a big town and we can't access that immediate care." So, it's a huge job that we do and the community appreciate what we do. We organise aged care assessments for the elderly when they're struggling in their homes.
So we suture them, if they've got a wound that can be sutured here. So somebody might come in with chest pain or with a wound.
We do emergency care in the centre as well. So we attend ambulance pagers and quite often we're the first one to arrive, to give urgent care and prepare them for transport. We're first responders for Ambulance Victoria. What's that mean for local residents, to have access to a resource like you? So it's about an hour and a half drive from Bairnsdale, up a very windy road, and it's mainly a farming community. So, Swifts Creek is on the Great Alpine Road on the way to Omeo or Mount Hotham.
For those that don't know it, where is it? So that was for a six-month weekend relief position. So, the bush nursing position I found advertised and it was for weekend relief, and I thought that sounds really challenging. I worked in the hospital system up until then. Of course, it's changed a lot over those hundred years and we've got a lot more equipment, a lot more education and have to deal with very similar things, but at least we've got the equipment now to deal with all of those things. The Swifts Creek Bush Nursing Centre, we actually celebrated our centenary in 2018. But I understand bush nursing's got a long proud history in the region in Victoria, generally. We'll drill down into those farmer health checks in a little bit, but that's a long history for you in that area. And because I've worked at Swifts Creek Bush Nursing Centre now for over 24 years, I've got to know all the local community, and so I can just turn up on their doorstep and say, I'm here to do a farmer health check. So being a bush nurse and me growing up on a farm and being well aware of what farmers do, and sheep and shearing, I can speak their lingo and I can actually go out and talk to them. So yeah, a lot of farmers out there don't want to go for assistance, think they're really tough and will continue on working hard and not getting any help with their medical conditions. So what does bush nursing mean to you and to remote communities? And to find out how it works, she joins us for this AgVic podcast. The people delivering it are bush nurses like Sue Carroll from Swifts Creek Nursing Centre. G'day, I'm Drew Radford, and the program essentially involves taking a health clinic right to the farmer's door. A pilot health program currently being run in East Gippsland is making great inroads in changing that. There's an old adage that farmers are far more likely to call a vet for their livestock than they are to call a doctor for themselves. Welcome to AgVic Talk, keeping you up to date with information from Agriculture Victoria.