Vale Dr Douglas Bridge

It is with deep sadness that we share the news of the recent passing of Dr Douglas Bridge.

A pioneer of palliative care in Perth, Dr Bridge was also a Life Member of Palliative Care WA.

He played a key role in establishing palliative care as a specialty in Australia, was an Emeritus Consultant at Royal Perth Hospital, a Clinical Professor at the School of Medicine and Pharmacology at UWA, and was awarded an Australian Medical Association Hippocrates Award in 2018 for his outstanding commitment to medicine and palliative care in particular.

In 1983, Silverchain commenced a pilot home care program for patients dying of cancer and although the intention was to treat people in their homes, at times they would require hospitalisation. Dr Bridge was to be the “hospital back-up”, receiving and treating these patients in accordance with the palliative model of care. At the same time, he was also medical director of the Cottage Hospice, a new facility for terminal cancer patients at Shenton Park.

With funding provided by the government, Dr Bridge set up the first palliative care consultative teams in Western Australia, and one of the first in Australia, which he ran from 1989 to 1993.

When Royal Perth Hospital advertised for a specialist palliative care doctor, Dr Bridge applied, knowing he wanted to make palliative care his life’s work. He directed this service for 20 years caring for more than 1,000 patients each year.

When he retired from RPH in 2012, Dr Bridge continued to work in palliative care across the State and also overseas. He visited Bangladesh sometimes twice a year, and had been a regular visitor to Taiwan and mainland China over the decades.

On behalf of the Board and CEO of Palliative Care WA we express our deepest condolences to Dr Bridge’s family, former colleagues and friends.

A celebration of Dr Bridge’s life will be held in January 2025.