Mike Symon (Deakin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to tell an inspirational story about a woman I met a few weeks ago, when the Minister for Employment Participation, Brendan O’Connor, came to visit my electorate to hold a disability roundtable. This focused on workplace experiences for people with chronic illnesses, carers and employers in my electorate of Deakin and of course beyond those boundaries as well. It was held at the Nerve Centre in Blackburn, which is also home to groups such as MS Australia and BrainLink. In particular, BrainLink assists those people who have an acquired brain injury.

Prue Ward was 27 years old in 2005 and working full time as a veterinary nurse when she was involved in a car accident whilst on her way to work. Prue suffered a fractured skull, bruising and swelling of the brain and a fractured collarbone and pelvis. As a result of the car crash, Prue also acquired a brain injury.

After quite a long period of time, when Prue was ready to return to work, her boss, Dr Bill Harkins, and practice manager Natalie Burns welcomed her back and told her they were focused on her strengths rather than what she was unable to do. And there are some things that Prue can no longer do, such as lift heavy animals. That is quite a common occurrence of course in a vet’s practice. But Bill assures us that she is their best outpatient nurse and her skills are in working with clients one on one. Again, that is a very important part of any veterinary practice.

The practice clients were certainly very supportive and happy to see her back, but it has been trial and error finding the right balance for Prue. When she first returned to work she was able to contribute four hours per week, but then went up to 22 hours. She found that was too much and is now stable on 15 hours. Although sometimes she feels she should be putting in more and doing more tasks than she does, it is an agreed outcome whereby everyone benefits, both Prue and the employer. Her colleagues also make sure that she does not work too hard and suffer from that.

Prue told Minister O’Connor and I that her return to work gave her a feeling of normality and a sense of purpose. She says that it is great to be able to do some of the things that she used to. I congratulate Dr Bill Harkins, practice manager Natalie Burns and all the staff at Blackburn Animal Hospital for their approach to Prue’s return to work. And I commend the courage and determination shown by Prue Ward in returning to the profession that she loves. I also commend the great work that BrainLink does for so many other people who have suffered an acquired brain injury.

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