Bill Griggs
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Dr William 'Bill' Griggs AM, who began his medical career in 1976 as a road ambulance officer, has now been deployed, as either a Royal Australian Air Force Specialist reservist or a civilian, to manage evacuations and tend to victims in dozens of disasters including the Bali Bombings and Boxing Day Tsunami. He is considered around the world as an authority on trauma medicine and invented the Griggs Kit, a device used to make an artificial airway for victims. In 2006, he was honoured as an Australian of the Year finalist.
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[edit] Positions
Dr Griggs' specialty is trauma and retrieval; he is the Director of Trauma Services and Senior Consultant (Intensive Care, Retrieval Services and Anaesthetics) at Royal Adelaide Hospital. He is a senior lecturer at three universities (Adelaide, Griffith, and Otago), and advises the South Australian Ambulance Service and St John Ambulance Australia.
Dr Griggs serves Australia as a Wing Commander in the Royal Australian Air Force Specialist Reserve (Medical). He saw active service in the Gulf War attached to the US Navy hospital ship Comfort, and was honoured by the United States with a Unit Commendation. In 1999, Dr Griggs was deployed to East Timor as part of INTERFET and was based in Dili, where he worked with the First Field Surgical Team (IFST) and the Aviation Regiment.
In 2002, Dr Griggs played an active role in the Australian medical response to the Bali Bombings, coordinating the evacuation of those injured in the attack through Darwin to the Major Trauma and Burns Units all around Australia.
In 2004, Dr Griggs was on the first Australian military aircraft into Banda Aceh as part of the military response following the Asian Boxing Day Tsunami disaster.
[edit] Honours
Dr Griggs was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the 2004 Queen's Birthday Honours for service to medicine, particularly through trauma, emergency and care management and education, and critical care and retrieval and in support of the Australian Defence Forces.
In 2006, Dr Griggs was the recipient of the Australian of the Year for South Australia.
[edit] Education
Dr Griggs attended Prince Alfred College. He then obtained his MBBS from the University of Adelaide in 1981 and the FFARACS (Anaesthesia - 1986 and Intensive Care - 1989) followed by the FANZCA in 1992, FFICANZCA in 1993 and FJFICM in 2002. He obtained his DipAvMed from the University of Otago in 2000
[edit] Publications
Dr Griggs has written over 40 articles and publications appearing in various journals. A full list can be found here: http://www.rah.sa.gov.au/trauma/publications_griggs.php
