Retirement is just what Wagga’s longest serving doctors have ordered.
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Peter Knight and Patrick Renshaw have practiced together in partnership for more than 40 years and will this December bid adieu to the Peter Street Medical Centre they established.
The pair joked their friendship had lasted longer than most marriages, having already celebrated their ruby anniversary.
Together they have helped sick patients struggle through illnesses, delivered thousands of babies, saved countless lives and held the hands of residents taking their final breaths.
They said no other doctors, practicing at the time they arrived in Wagga, remained.
“We’ve both delivered babies from babies we delivered,” Dr Knight said. “The most pleasurable thing in medicine is watching them grow up."
When asked what the secret to a lasting partnership and friendship was, they said: “We trust each other in business and we trust each other in medicine”.
Dr Knight said they had witnessed many changes to the medical field across four decades.
“There weren’t many specialists here when we came to Wagga,” Dr Knight said. “We were a jack of all specialities.”
When the young graduates arrived in the 70s, they said there were no ultrasounds, CT scanners or MRI machines.
“The biggest changes have been the advancements in radiology,” Dr Knight said. “Now they can do twin-to-twin blood transfusions in utero.”
The family doctors may be stepping away from the practice, but they said it would be too hard to hang up their stethoscopes entirely.
Dr Renshaw said they had seen some of their patients since they arrived in the city.
“I think we’ll miss some of the patients that have become close friends,” Dr Renshaw said. “It puts a smile on your face knowing they’ve trusted you for that long.”
The pair said they planned to have their travel and relaxation scripts filled as they settled into retirement next year.
Dr Knight has roots firmly in the community, coming from the family of Knight’s Meats fame and Dr Renshaw’s family connection to the Riverina stretches back to past generations.