Dr Richard Harris SC OAM DUniv
BMBS ’89, DUniversity ’19
By Kate Holland
It’s almost impossible to separate retired specialist anaesthetist Dr Richard ‘Harry’ Harris SC OAM from that cave-diving rescue. He and Dr Craig Challen SC OAM were jointly awarded 2019 Australian of the Year for their efforts. The backstory that led him there includes studying at Flinders, and lots and lots of diving.
Harry is a third-generation doctor who grew up around medicine. Raised in Adelaide, his dad was a vascular surgeon, and his mum was a nurse. If job prospects had been more viable for marine biologists, or if the veterinary school had accepted him, his story might be completely different. He credits a very influential Year 12 Biology teacher for pushing him in medicine’s direction.
“I went to uni straight from school, aged 17. I always did outdoor holiday jobs, and I was working on a station near Broken Hill when I heard I was accepted. I was having so much fun I thought about spending a year up there. I decided it best to get on with it or I might not come back!”Harry explains.
“The original plan was to become a country GP, but that changed over the years. While my career trajectory was pretty smooth, I actually failed my first year of medicine comprehensively. I never failed another exam, but I was very intimidated by the postgrad anaesthesia exams. Those exams put me off doing further study to be an intensive care (IC) specialist despite how much I enjoyed it. The thought of more exams was too much.”
University Life
Harry graduated from Flinders University with a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery in 1989. He says it was a great time of his life.
“There was a good community, I had a great social life and I made lifelong friends – far more so than at school where I didn’t really hit my stride. I think Flinders made me more open-minded and tolerant, and, to my parents’ horror, a bit more of a lefty!”
It was during his time at Flinders that his interest in diving flourished and distracted him from study. He says he was an average but well-connected student.
“I have great memories of camping trips to the Yorke Peninsula with uni friends to go fishing and diving. I became a dive instructor at the Flinders University Underwater Club, and then started cave diving which has remained a passion. I know that current online learning and less face time has changed things a lot, so I hope that clubs and social activities are still as vigorous.”
Linking Skills and Passion
Having graduated, Harry did 12 months of anaesthesia training in the UK and loved it, so decided to apply to the training program in Adelaide. Before long, he was able to unite it with diving medicine and ICU and retrieval work to create a swag
of specialities that he says were riveting.
“Anaesthesia was good for my extracurricular activities. It taught me to keep calm under pressure when you need to make difficult decisions. Cave diving shares the same need,” he says.
Across his more than 30-year career, Harry has worked in a variety of critical care and aeromedical retrieval environments in Australia, Vanuatu and New Zealand. It was his acclaim in cave-diving circles that saw him specifically requested by British experts to assist with the Tham Luang Nang Non cave rescue in Thailand.
The process involved navigating a dangerous cave system to retrieve 12 young soccer players and their coach, guiding them out through nearly 2.5 kilometres of zero visibility water. His skills as an anaesthetist and diver combined perfectly.
Although Harry was always training for something like this, he says that particular incident was, “out of the box”.
“I certainly never expected to be involved in something of that scale, and definitely didn’t expect the intense change to our lives that followed. My most meaningful award following that was the Edgar Pask Citation from the Association of Anaesthetists (AAGBI) in London. Edgar was an historical figure that I greatly admired.”
Harry was awarded a 2018 Distinguished Alumni Award from Flinders for outstanding service to the international community through this specialist response role, and in the following year received an Honorary Doctor of the University. He also received the Star of Courage and the Medal of the Order of Australia.
The Way Forward
Harry says that anaesthesia has never been safer, but that good clinical skills and teamwork remain the most important thing in patient safety.
“Working in Vanuatu reminded me of that fact. I see a lot of technology and monitoring being used because it is the ‘accepted standard’. I worry that it costs more but doesn’t contribute further to patient outcomes. We need to constantly reassess these priorities.”
He pictures more automation, more AI and more assistants, like nurse anaesthetists, performing some of his skills in the future.
“I think other practitioners like nurses can really value-add, especially as we become overwhelmed with greater numbers of older, sicker and more complex patients. As doctors we need to stop being so protective of our patch and be more open-minded to using other skilled practitioners, so we can concentrate on the most complex of patients,” he says. To those considering medicine as a career, Harry encourages them not to hesitate
“Just go easy on yourself and ask for help if you are struggling. At times it’s genuinely hard for everyone,” he says.
Retired as an anaesthetist since 2022, Harry is the current Lieutenant Governor of South Australia. He’s also on the speaking circuit, pursuing his career in factual filmmaking – particularly underwater – and writing kids’ books.
“Life is great and I’m so very fortunate to have these
opportunities. Cave diving and imaging remains a big focus. I also took up grassroots motor sports a few years ago, racing an old mini and a 1974 Ford Escort.”
Wise Words
Cave diving and motorsports might seem reckless or courageous, but Harry says he is far from fearless.
“I am actually a bit of a nervous person who doesn’t consider himself at all brave. But I do believe I am a good risk manager.” The idea of getting out of your comfort zone is something he advocates.
“If someone asks if you want to do something new, difficult or scary, say yes, then think about it afterwards! Especially at work. If they ask if you want to do something that seems a bit outside your wheelhouse, chances are they think you are ready, so just do it. Maybe refresh on the text books a bit first!” he says.
His motto makes sense and rings true. Richard ‘Harry’ Harris won’t die wondering.