When the lead burns surgeon responsible for managing the Whakaari/White Island eruption victims found out he had been awarded a King’s Birthday Honour, he felt “a whole flood of emotions” - including imposter syndrome.
Dr Richard Wong She has today been appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to burns care.
The Middlemore Hospital plastic, reconstructive and burns surgeon said he felt “complete disbelief” upon finding out.
After it dawned upon him that the appointment was real, he felt “honoured and humbled” along with imposter syndrome and “deep fulfilment”.
Wong She was the inaugural clinical leader of the New Zealand National Burn Service, consisting of three regional burns units at Christchurch Hospital, Hutt Hospital and Waikato Hospital, and the National Burn Centre at Middlemore Hospital, Auckland, where he was the clinical lead until February 2023.
He has been instrumental in establishing and maintaining the National Burn Service since its launch in 2006, collaborating with colleagues, hospital management and government officials to develop a highly respected service that has seen significant improvements in both outcomes and survival.
Wong She is the chair of the Australian and New Zealand Burn Association emergency management of severe burns course and has helped develop and deliver it nationally and internationally.
He is active in training with the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, including nine years as a supervisor of training for plastic surgery at Middlemore Hospital.
Wong She also helped develop the National Health Emergency Response plan for a mass casualty burns disaster.
He was the lead burns surgeon responsible for managing the victims of the Whakaari/White Island volcanic eruption on December 9 2019, which killed 22 people.
Wong She said Whaakari represented a culmination of his work prior to the eruption.
“If you think about all those things being put together... that allowed New Zealand as a whole to care for all of those patients that came from Whaakari.”
Wong She said Whakaari tested himself and his team “right to the limit”.
However, “I can tell you that every single patient that we treated in Whakaari and every other patient that we had already in the hospital got everything that they needed.
“It’s never just an individual that has made things work, but in fact, a whole team. And I’m incredibly proud of the team and all the work that’s been done.”
Speaking generally about his role, Wong She said he was responsible for “life-threatening” burns injuries.
“If you think about a burn injury, they can be quite devastating. And so then comes the other side - you want to give someone a life worth living.
“And those were the reasons I went into medicine in the first place and it’s really pleasing to find a career where I can actually manage to do something that I love and just happen to be paid for at the same time.
“We rebuild bodies to restore lives and that’s what we’re trying to do.”