Vale Pauline Talty

It is with great sadness that I learned Pauline Talty had passed away on Friday, 29 April 2011.

Pauline was a young woman of great determination and courage and she fought hard against illness at different stages of her life. Her enduring spirit, particularly as she undertook ongoing and arduous treatment, affected people throughout our local community and around Australia.

Thank you to the many people from different backgrounds in our Hills community who provided support and encouragement for Pauline and her family. Be it making a donation, attending a fundraising concert, or passing on best wishes, Pauline’s fight inspired people to help.

Thank you also to the Shadow Minister for Health, the Hon. Peter Dutton MP. Peter’s critical intervention in this matter in 2009 ensured Pauline received then life-saving funding for a bowel transplant in the face of an intransigent bureaucracy.

Our health system must be about caring for our community. We should not have to battle both illness and bureaucracy. Pauline Talty has left a great legacy, and part of this legacy is to remind us that our health system must focus on the needs of patients. It was a privilege to assist Pauline in the challenges she faced against a sometimes intransigent bureaucracy.

My thoughts and prayers go out to the family, friends, and loved ones of Pauline Talty at this difficult time.