Heart of Australia is the brainchild of Brisbane cardiologist Dr Rolf Gomes, a father of three and the principal of Medihearts - his established private cardiology practice in Brisbane. Rolf comes from a family of 3 siblings (initially 4 siblings prior to the death of his eldest brother at the age of 5). Rolf was born in Calcutta and came to Australia at the age of 9 with his parents. From very humble beginnings Rolf later graduated from Electrical Engineering and worked for 2 years as an Electrical Engineer for a petro chemical company. He then left a good job to pursue a career in medicine because….as he would say…. “I just wanted to be in a job where I was chatting to people all day and at the same time doing something useful with my life”. So he went back to wiping down coffee tables for another four years and eventually graduated from Medicine….and later Cardiology. Rolf was instantly attracted to Cardiology because ….. “in essence…the heart is just like a pump….it’s got plumbing, valves and electrics……also….obstetrics scared the hell out of me and the other stuff was just too hard!” Rolf recognised early what might be possible by mobilising healthcare technology. Perhaps this was his Engineering background resurfacing….by combining the dictum of medicine which is to “prolong life and ease suffering“ with the mantra of engineers which is to “make things happen”, and with the aid of like-minded organisations and colleagues, Rolf was finally able to realise his vision - to bring services….many which people in the city take for granted….to the bush. Close to 6 years after taking the first step…..and going down many dry gullies….on the 3rd of October 2014 Heart of Australia was launched. What has been achieved since is nothing short of amazing.
On Tuesday 6 December 2016, Dr James Edwards who is based in Sydney…