Teddy treated after tractor tumble

Grampians Health is ready to reintroduce Teddy Tours at Wimmera Base Hospital after a successful day with Goroke P-12 College prep students and teachers. 

Teddy Tours were once a feature with Wimmera kindergarten children, providing them with the surety that hospitals were a safe place to come when they were sick or had an accident. The children would bring in a sick teddy bear and then watch as a doctor examined Teddy and recommended further tests and treatment. 

The tours ran for more than two decades before being cancelled for safety reasons during the COVID outbreak.  

There was no real sign of a return until Goroke P12 College teacher Amanda Light contacted Grampians Health Public Relations manager Peter Miller about the possibility of her students visiting the hospital. The discussion quickly turned to reinstating the Teddy Tour. 

Mr Miller said the hospital and particularly the Emergency Department were much busier spaces since COVID. 

“There were safety concerns about bringing the tour back but the enthusiasm from Grampians Health clinical staff was overwhelmingly in support of giving it a go, so we did,” Mr Miller said. 

Guiding the WBH Teddy Ambulance, the prep students brought Teddy into ED after he had ‘fallen from a tractor wheel’. He was examined in the George Howell Resuscitation Unit by Dr Andrew Trezise and nurse Taylor Besford, under the close watch of Emergency Head Dr Peter Carter. 

Teddy was then transferred to Radiology where radiographer Gabriel Abrahams and manager Kristy Paine took an Xray. After viewing the images, it was determined that Teddy needed further attention, so he was wheeled to the Yandilla unit. 

Yandilla nurse unit manager Michelle Coutts was there to greet Teddy and his entourage and complete his admittance which included his patient wrist band. Physiotherapist Amy O’Sullivan then brought crutches for Teddy and after bandaging his leg, explained what rehabilitation he would need to help with recovery. 

After just an hour of care at Wimmera Base Hospital, Teddy was discharged and returned home with his friends. Teacher Amanda Light thanked all the Grampians Health staff who looked after Teddy and made his visit a very pleasant experience. 

“The students enjoyed every minute of their hospital visit and they all said they would feel safe if they ever had to come into hospital again,” Ms Light said. 

Dr Carter said his team got a boost out of seeing the children bring Teddy in for care. 

“There were a lot of smiling faces and cooing from the team and it was just such a fun day,” Dr Carter said. 

“Everyone is keen for more of these tours to happen in 2025 and while they have always been for kindergarten ages, I don’t see anything wrong with increasing the limit to maybe Grade Two classes. 

“As long as groups are a manageable size, we would welcome them, the only issue being that access to all areas is never a guarantee. That’s just the nature of our business.” 

Schools or kindergartens wanting to enquire about Teddy Tours in 2026 can email communications@gh.org.au