Bill Griggs

Dr William Middleton 'Bill' Griggs AM, began his medical career in 1976 as a volunteer paramedic while studying as a medical student. As a paramedic he attended his 100th fatal road crash prior to graduating as a doctor in 1981. Since then he has had a long involvement in the care of the injured and has been involved in caring for the victims of many multiple casualty events, including structure collapses, bombings, bus, train and aircraft crashes. He has completed many hundreds of aeromedical retrievals including a number of maritime helicopter winch rescues. He has also been deployed, as either a Royal Australian Air Force Specialist reservist or as a civilian, to manage evacuations and tend to victims in a number of disasters including both the 2002 and 2005 Bali Bombings, the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami and the crash of Garuda Airlines flight GA200 in Yogyakarta in 2007. He is considered a world authority on trauma medicine.

In 1989 he invented a surgical instrument and a procedure, now called the "Griggs technique", to perform percutaneous tracheotomy and make an artificial airway for the critically ill and injured. This technique is used worldwide and was used to help Pope John Paul II in February 2005.

He has strong interests in road safety and injury prevention. In 2004 he conceived, designed and funded the Roads 2 Survival Program, a community-based young person road safety initiative.

Positions

Dr Griggs' specialty is trauma and retrieval; he is the Director of Trauma Services and Senior Consultant (Intensive Care, Retrieval Services and Anaesthetics) at Royal Adelaide Hospital. He is a Clinical Associate Professor at Adelaide University and has previously been a senior lecturer at Griffith University and the University of Otago. He also works for the South Australian Ambulance Service and has been a volunteer with St John Ambulance Australia since the mid 1970s. He was one of the founding members and is a past president of the Australasian Trauma Society

Dr Griggs serves Australia as a Group Captain in the Royal Australian Air Force Specialist Reserve (Medical). He saw active service in the Gulf War attached to the US Navy hospital ship "Comfort" and the US Navy aircraft carrier "Ranger", and was honoured by the United States with a Navy Unit Commendation.

In 1994 and 1998 he deployed to Bougainville in support of the peace efforts there.

In 1999, Dr Griggs was deployed to East Timor as part of INTERFET and was based in Dili, where he worked with the First Field Surgical Team (IFST) and with the Australian Army's 5 Aviation Regiment.

In 2002, Dr Griggs played an active role in the Australian medical response to the Bali Bombings, coordinating the evacuation of those injured in the attack through Darwin to the Major Trauma and Burns Units all around Australia.

In 2004, Dr Griggs was on the first Australian military aircraft into Banda Aceh as part of the military response following the Asian Boxing Day Tsunami disaster.

In 2005, Dr Griggs was involved in the Australian response to the second Bali Bombings, travelling to Bali on the first Australian C130 and working as part of a Critical Care Aeromedical Evacuation (AME) Team.

In March 2007, Dr Griggs deployed to Yogyakarta in Indonesia as part of a RAAF medical response to the crash of Garuda Airlines Flight GA-200.

Honours

Dr Griggs was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the 2003 Queen's Birthday Honours for service to medicine, particularly through trauma, emergency and care management and education, and critical care and retrieval and in support of the Australian Defence Force.

In 2006, Dr Griggs was the recipient of the award of Australian of the Year for South Australia and was a national finalist.

In 2006, Dr Griggs was awarded the Keys to the City of Adelaide.

Education

Dr Griggs attended Prince Alfred College. He then obtained his MBBS from the University of Adelaide in 1981 and the FFARACS (Anaesthesia - 1986 and Intensive Care - 1989) followed by the FANZCA in 1992, FFICANZCA in 1993 and FJFICM in 2002. He obtained his DipAvMed from the University of Otago in 2000.

Dr Griggs was made a Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Adelaide at the end of 2006.

Publications

Dr Griggs has written over 40 articles and publications appearing in various journals. A full list can be found here: http://www.rah.sa.gov.au/trauma/publications_griggs.php

External links

Royal Australian Air Force newsletter *http://www.defence.gov.au/news/raafnews/EDITIONS/4723/topstories/story06.htm

Working in Banda Aceh
*http://www.defence.gov.au/optsunamiassist/images/gallery/050105c/index.htm

Australian of the Year award 2006
*http://www.australianoftheyear.gov.au/pages/page125.asp

Member of the Order of Australia (9 June 2003)
*http://www.itsanhonour.gov.au/honours/honour_roll/search.cfm?aus_award_id=1043767&search_type=simple&showInd=true

National Medal (30 April 1993) and first clasp (19 August 2002)
*http://www.itsanhonour.gov.au/honours/honour_roll/search.cfm?aus_award_id=1038558&search_type=simple&showInd=true
*http://www.itsanhonour.gov.au/honours/honour_roll/search.cfm?aus_award_id=1137275&search_type=simple&showInd=true

University of Adelaide
*http://www.health.adelaide.edu.au/icu/rah/ss_griggs.htm

Royal Adelaide Hospital Trauma Service
*http://www.rah.sa.gov.au/trauma/staff_griggs.php

Roads 2 Survival
*http://www.roads2survival.com.au/index.htm

Percutaneous Tracheostomy and Pope John Paul II
*http://www.mdis.org/News/190.htm

Copyright photos: [http://www.australianoftheyear.org.au/pages/images/2006Dr_William_-_Bill_-_Griggs_AOTY_SA.jpg2006] , [http://www.abc.net.au/australianetwork/nexus/img6/6ep003_3_02.jpg2007] , [http://www.rah.sa.gov.au/trauma/fotos/griggs.jpg2008]