After saving hundreds of lives in our district, and throughout South Australia, leading cardiologist Dr Phil Tideman OA, has died as a result of bowel cancer, aged 64.
It was at Naracoorte and Robe that in 1999 Dr Tideman first teamed up with the Kincraig and Robe Medical Clinics, setting a blueprint for the rest of the nation to follow.
At the time – following research he had done in the late 1990s – Dr Tideman was concerned at least three people aged between 50-70 in our region would drop dead each year from heart attacks.
Additionally, our country people had a 20 percent less chance of heart attack survival than our city cousins.
Dr Tideman was determined to change that statistic, and he did.
Through his Integrated Cardiovascular Clinical Network (ICARNET) project, within five years he had bridged the gap.
Dr Brian Norcock of Kincraig Medical Clinic said most people throughout our region and the whole of SA “have a relative, friend or neighbour whose life has been touched by Phil Tideman”.
In 1999, Dr Tideman’s first country visits as a cardiologist were to Naracoorte and Robe where he struck up strong friendships, particularly with Dr Norcock, Dr David Senior and their specialist GPs.
Together, initially they looked at the statistics and issues facing country cardio patients. Then they developed solutions.
Through ICARNET rural doctors are guaranteed immediate access to a cardiologist 24 hours a day. Dr Tideman manned the phone himself for the first 15 years.
If required, seamless emergency transport to specialist cardiac care in Adelaide is also arranged.
Complementing ICARNET, Dr Tideman organised annual training for country doctors and nurses.
“He then installed equipment and consumables, in all small country hospitals for point of care testing,” Dr Senior said.
“So we (country GPs) were able to test people’s blood for instance for things like troponin T in order to tell whether people were in fact having a heart attack.
“He also arranged to put in to small country hospitals Tenecteplase which is a very expensive drug. It’s basically a clot buster to treat patients who’ve just had a heart attack.
“If you can give it early enough to the patient you can get rid of the clot that is blocking the blood vessel which is causing the heart attack.
“That sort of treatment costs about $2,000 a shot. It is subsidised by Medicare now, but previously small country hospitals did not have it available.
“He (Dr Tideman) managed to get it into the system so all the small country hospitals had that available … and limit the damage of heart attacks.
“He went beyond that – not just the detection and treatment process, but ensuring the quality control for equipment that was put in.
“Then beyond that, we had the rehabilitation process that he put in place so (country people) could rehabilitate at home.
“So, there is a whole series of things that he developed to create a whole system that he put in place to prevent country people dying from coronary heart disease.
“Then he presented all the different hospitals and medical centres with great big individualised flow charts to be put on the wall in their treatment rooms, so that in the middle of an emergency, you could simply follow the flow chart.
“Phil specifically designed the charts for each centre so that they were locally relevant.”
Dr Senior said by doing all that Dr Tideman significantly reduced the overall mortality from coronary heart disease for country patients.
“The mortality rate for country patients is now actually lower than the mortality rate in the southern suburbs of Adelaide,” Dr Senior said.
Dr Tideman trained as a cardiologist at the Royal Hobart and Royal Adelaide Hospitals before completing his specialist qualifications at Flinders Medical Centre in 1996.
But before that, after studying medicine, Dr Tideman worked as a rural GP and qualified GP obstetrician in Mount Gambier and the Riverland.
He understood the critical importance of specialist rural GPs.
“The very real rural medical workforce crisis in SA must be addressed rapidly and comprehensively by adoption of a rural generalist model of care …” Dr Tideman said recently, highlighting what could be done to ensure there was an “absolute commitment” to country health care.
Among Dr Tideman’s numerous accolades is a literary award for research in medicine regarding the effectiveness of point-of-care testing for therapeutic control of chronic conditions such as diabetes.
Recognising his passion and work for equity in rural health care, on June 11 this year Dr Tideman was appointed as a Member in the General Division of the Order of Australia in the King’s Birthday honours.
“Although so humble and never one to seek accolades, it was timely that in his final weeks he was acknowledged for making great things happen that would not have been achieved without him,” Dr Norcock said.
“He was outstanding with his visions, creativity, networking skills at all levels and an absolute tireless worker for better rural cardiac health outcomes.”
Staying positive and caring about his family, friends, colleagues and patients until the end, Dr Tideman’s last message to Dr Norcock thanked him for his unending support and friendship over so many years.
It talked about recovery and getting out of Flinders hospital, but “maybe not returning to work!”.
Dr Senior said he had been in touch with Dr Tideman’s wife Deb and sent condolences to both her and their four children.
Dr Norcock said Dr Tideman’s death was very sad and the medical community throughout SA and beyond was in mourning.
Dr Tideman was admitted to Flinders Hospital with Covid eight weeks before his passing – his health was weakened by his 20 month battle with aggressive bowel cancer.
Surrounded by his loving family, on Wednesday 26th July he passed away.
This article appeared in the Naracoorte Community News.
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