For fifth-year Obstetrics and Gynaecology Registrar Dr Hannah Reinks, medicine isn’t just work – it’s a passion.
And it shows.
Dr Rienks was the 2025 Walshs Medical Bursary recipient; a prestigious award which provides an early-career doctor $10,000 to improve patient outcomes both in Australia and abroad.
She used the funding to travel to Kagando Hospital Fistula Camp, western Uganda, in August and perform life-changing obstetric fistula surgeries for women.
“These women would suffer in silence for years,” Hannah said.
“They couldn’t afford treatment, or the clinic they attended wasn’t able to offer what they needed and it was too far to travel.”
Dr Rienks was introduced to a different world, with stark differences to Australia’s healthcare system.
“The waiting room for patients to see us was a grassy hill under a tree,” she said.
“The post-operative ward was a large marquee on the edge of the hospital grounds, with no power, and minimal protection provided from the oppressive heat and heavy rains. Patients aren’t provided food in hospital – a family member must accompany them to cook in the shared open-fire kitchen.
“Simple supplies like gloves and paracetamol were scarce and precious. The speculums we used to examine patients were rusty from many years of cleaning and re-use.
“The operating rooms power dropped in and out. There was no air conditioning or fans. Equipment such as lights and stools would break. Instruments that would be single-use at home would be carefully cleaned to allow re-use.”
Under the guidance of Gold Coast Health esteemed Professors Judith Goh and Hannah Krause, Dr Rienks and the team reviewed 108 patients and performed surgery for 85 women.
All staff were self-funded volunteers who used their private time to participate.
“It was a life-changing trip,” she said.
“It was incredibly hard but also rewarding. The days were long, the accommodation and food very basic, the mosquitoes aggressive, and the weather incredibly hot.
“However, these challenges were nothing compared to what these women face.”
Dr Rienks said the entire trip was inspiring, however one specific thing stood out.
“Seeing the women’s transformations from first arrival to discharge, from shame and fear to relief and joy,” she said.
“It made this the most rewarding work I have ever done. Even though we could barely speak a few words of each other’s languages, the smiles and tears and hugs and singing expressed the most gratitude I’d ever felt.”
If you would like to support the cause, you can donate here where funds are used solely to settle the bill for patients’ surgeries with the hospital finance office.
