Locum location: Riverland General Hospital (Berri)

A FACEM Review of Riverland General Hospital 

How did you settle in? Any tips for new arrivals?

The staff in Berri were so welcoming, and Melissa (ED admin) is there in the ED to ensure all issues are quickly sorted out.

She does the rostering and signs timesheets.



The nursing staff are used to locums, so it is a friendly/helpful group, and everyone just mucks in to get the job done. Some fantastic old-school nurses who are locals/regular staff, and they essentially run the department. Turn up, work hard, and be mindful that is a regional centre and not a metro ED with all the bells and whistles.

The ED does see some very complex cases, so be up for a challenge. A really great little ED. 

How was the travel, logistics and accommodation?

We drove from Victoria and picked up a hire car for me in nearby Renmark, as hubby had all his toys on the 4WD. The local roads are good but be mindful of trucks and farmers.

I arranged my accommodation rather than staying in the hospital flats. I highly recommend Dots House in Berri: a 2-bedroom refurbished old cottage with lush gardens and resident chooks. I had nil trouble getting this reimbursed as it was around the daily allowance.

For the last week I stayed in the Rewnmark caravan park as Dots was already booked. Renamark is only 15 mins drive and living riverside was magical. At the time it was low season so the caravan park was not busy and had loads of amenities.

A meal is provided ( meals on wheels) and there are snacks around the department and a coffee machine. I preferred to eat my own food.

What was the support for locum doctors like in the department?

• Melissa and the team made me feel incredibly welcome: doing a longer stint (5 weeks) and being a FACEM is somewhat of a rarity as a locum. There are usually 3 doctors on a shift with only 2 on overnight. The medical staff is a mix of experienced rural GP specialists, ACEM/GP trainees, IMGS of varying levels and local interns/medical students.
• As the senior doctor on shift, the staff appreciated the support and the ability to do some procedures etc that can be off limits as dependent on having an anaesthetist eg sedation for fracture/dislocation reductions.
• I found the GP (and ACEM) trainees very competent and also good fun to work with. They assisted me with local logistics and patient knowledge.
• The local specialists are approachable and always available over the phone.

What specialists were on call? How was access to imaging etc?

• There is a senior on call for the overnight staff but this was more a phone service. Each speciality had an on-call specialist or advanced trainee 24/7.
• Berri cannot admit paediatric patients or those who are unstable. These patients need to be sent to Adelaide via flying doctors or Medstar retrieval. 
• Sick patients from the ward return to ED awaiting retrieval as the ward is unable to manage and nil ICU. I found the staff at Adelaide centres all very helpful and supportive
• During the day it is easy to get x-rays/CT done and even ultrasound. The radiology department is next door to the ED. After-hours scans need to be deemed clinically urgent and there is a list of approved scans. 

On average, how many presentations were there to the ED each day? How many were you dealing with?

The ED would see an average of 40+ patients per day across all categories. There are local industry and farming communities which result in injuries as well as sporting/adventure-type activities.

Access to local GPs is good so whilst there are minor injuries or cat 5 presentations, they are generally after hours. 

I would supervise/ be aware of all the patients on my shift and see 10+ a shift, pending the acuity and supervision requirements. 

Any other comments on the set up of the hospital?

• Mental health ward on site but most of the consults are done via telehealth.
• Cardiology service via phone for urgent advice especially for AMI: most patients are thrombolysed before transfer out.
• Small 3-bed SSU in the ED
• Local communities do have special patient groups: lower socioeconomic, indigenous, migrant and drug/alcohol to add to the flavour of the work.

What were the best spots in town for food, coffee & shopping? Share with us your favourites!

Berri has several food outlets, including some good food trucks that visit regularly. The local pub/club serves a good parmi/beef schnitzel however our favourite places were out of town. The pubs all do beef schnitty with mushroom gravy and will tell you theirs is the best, we loved the homemade one at the Overland Corner which is a cracking pub out of town.

Temperance Fri/Sat night at Renmark pub does a degustation that is excellent food but massive portions and very reasonable at $120/head.

The BEST ever taramasalata is found at Elanis restaurant at Mallee estate wineries. Eleni is just gorgeous and very proud of her sons.

Berri has all the main supermarkets and we loved the local butcher for fresh meat and his homemade salamis.

What did you get up to on your time off?

My husband came with me and he spent his days cycling/canoeing when I was at work. On days off we ventured to local towns to check out sights and have lunch or visit local wineries. Plenty of local sports to watch including motorcross/speedway and dirt go-karting, as well as footy and more mainstream etc.

Just sitting by the river was also very peaceful and I think in warmer months there is lots of boating activities.

Any local inside information we should know about?  Best swimming spots, lookouts, bike or walk trails?

There are hundreds of bike paths but the bindis are everywhere off the bitumen so you need tubeless tyres. The woolshed brewery is a must see, especially for city folks, but it is out of town and taxis in between towns are ridiculously expensive. Old shearing shed with interesting beers but set on the riverbank and is just lovely in the sun to sit and relax.

Would you go back? If so, why? Would you recommend the location?



I have already booked to return later in the year as I loved my time there. The area has so much to do, the people are friendly, the work exciting and just a great team to be with. We will stay in Berri at Dot's house again as it was home away from home.