Speech by His Excellency

The Honourable Hieu Van Le AC, Governor of South Australia

 

"Author Yann Martel is winner of the Man Booker Prize, the world’s most prestigious literary award, after the Nobel Prize for Literature.

In his novel The High Mountains of Portugal, he describes pathology in the most striking of terms: 

“Under the pathologist’s microscope”, he writes, 

“life and death fight in an illuminated circle in a sort of cellular bullfight.” 

“The pathologist’s job is to 
find the bull among the matador cells.”

 

As human beings we now live longer, and issues of wellbeing and health become more challenging. 

As a society, we need to support people to maintain good health, well into their senior years.

By identifying the ‘bull among the cells’, pathology plays an integral role in ensuring better diagnosis of medical conditions, and the best possible patient outcomes.

 

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I was interested to learn that 1 in 2 South Australians have a pathology test each year. In addition, 70 per cent of medical decisions and 100 per cent of cancer diagnoses rely on pathology tests.

I acknowledge the many and varied skills that are vital for pathologists to perform their roles well.

These include an inquiring mind, attention to detail, consistency, perseverance and many more.

I offer my heartfelt thanks to all the pathologists here with us today for their vital contribution to the health and wellbeing of all South Australians.

You are the ones sitting in the laboratories, doing the day-to-day work to diligently identify and prepare results, providing vital information to medical practitioners.

In my own experience and in the experience of my friends and family, such information has been crucial for treatment and positive outcomes.

We truly appreciate your work.

You are unsung heroes; please do not underestimate the impact you are making to the wellbeing of the South Australian people.

Since, its establishment in 1985, Clinpath has undergone several waves of evolution and expansion, and is now South Australia’s largest private employer of pathologists.

I was very impressed to learn that, today, Clinpath employs more than 650 people across 140 sites.

This includes nearly 40 pathologists with specialties in all the major sub-disciplines of pathology.

I’d like to congratulate Clinpath on this new, state of the art laboratory, which represents the next step in its evolution as a South Australian business success story.

I acknowledge the leadership team of Sonic Healthcare and Clinpath for their work driving the creation of this fantastic laboratory.

I trust that Clinpath staff will very much enjoy working here.

Thank you.