Dr Andrew Heap is well-known in volunteerism circles, giving his time over the years to a number of worthy causes – and he urges others to give back too.
Equal Health
Andrew committed many years to dental volunteerism overseas with Equal Health – making a difference to the oral health of many who otherwise would not have had easy access to a dentist.
“My first trip to India with Equal Health was back in 2005 and it was a real life-changer for me,” he recalls. “It opened my eyes to other cultures and another country that was very different from our own. India was somewhere that I really loved, and I loved the people, I loved the culture and really enjoyed being a part of that.
“After that trip I became involved as a team leader and as the years went by, I became the person that was coordinating the dental effort for Equal Health – I thoroughly enjoyed that experience.”
“A time I will always remember from India 2006 was when we treated an old lady for severe pain by extracting her tooth,” he recalls. “Following the extraction, with no spoken English in her grasp, she burst into tears. Greatly concerned I asked the interpreter if we had hurt her and he said: “No you didn’t, she’s just incredibly happy, relieved and grateful to be out of the pain she had suffered from this tooth for five years’. My dental nurse and I just had to turn away and have a little weep ourselves. It makes volunteering all worthwhile!”
Andrew’s last trip with Equal Health was in 2017, but he continued as a coordinator from Perth until the trips were cancelled due to COVID restrictions in 2020. “The trip in 2020 was the last time Equal Health went away to India and that just scraped in,” he says. “The trip was in February and the team managed to get home just as things were starting to ramp up.”
Kimberley Dental Team
Andrew started volunteering with the Kimberley Dental Team in 2010 and tries to do one trip a year.
“It is fantastic experience, and we always have a great time,” Andrew says. “We are very fortunate that we are able to take a couple of final year dental students as well, which is very nice to be able to mentor them and show them that different aspect of dentistry.”
St Pat’s
With the Equal Health trips cancelled, Andrew was looking for another volunteering option, and started volunteering with St Pat’s in late 2021. “I had always intended to volunteer with St Pat’s, but when I was still involved with my own clinical practice that regular commitment wasn’t possible,” he says. “When I retired, I was able to commit and volunteer once a month, and it is great.”
Andrew says at St Pat’s he is doing extractions, basic restoratives and denture work – and the feedback from the patients he treats is always very positive. For Andrew, he is also always pleasantly surprised by the broad spectrum of patients he gets to treat. “They are all very nice people, and it is rewarding to be able to be able to help them out in this way,” he says. “When I am doing dentistry at St Pat’s you don’t have to worry about anything other than just providing close to the optimum treatment that you can for those patients.”
Call-out to others
For dentists approaching retirement (or those at any stage of their career) who are thinking about volunteering, Andrew says to give it a go. “Speak to one of us who have volunteered over a number of years, and we can give you an idea of what to expect.
“Volunteering is a nice way of enjoying dentistry in a different way,” he adds. “You don’t have to necessarily worry about the business aspect of dentistry or the cost aspect, but can just enjoy the experience of helping people, using the skills we have been given.”
To enquire about volunteering at St Pat’s contact Deb McLeod, dmcleod@stpats.com.au
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