In 1984 the original Glenorie Medical Centre was opened by Dr Molly Hyslop and Dr Pip Gibian at 6 Post Office Road, Glenorie. For the two of us, this was a big challenge. We both had families with our youngest both six years old. After failing to find suitable rental premises in the area, we bought this house. Money was tight. We repainted it ourselves and renewed the garden. We retained the previous owner’s carpet and curtains for quite some years. The office furniture was mostly second-hand, as was some of the medical equipment. At that time Glenorie was very rural, surrounded by working farms and everyone knew each other. Many farms were owned by Italian migrants from the 1960s who grew vegetables and fruit but, above all, flowers. Their chrysanthemums and roses were legendary. Mostly it was young married couples who populated the two quarteracre residential areas. Housing in Glenorie was a little cheaper than other local suburban areas, allowing them to invest in their own homes.
We had investigated the area and thought there was some need for more medical services in Glenorie. This was an underestimation. The practice grew rapidly, along with the local birth rate. In those days, it seemed a very long way to the nearest hospital and dedicated after hours medical services did not exist. We shared night and weekend calls with Galston Medical Centre, with the doctor-on-call looking after both practices. The home visit area ranged from Dural and Galston to Maroota. We ran Saturday and Sunday morning surgeries. Farm accidents and emergency medicine were not rare. Fortunately, we were able to employ some part-time assistants. Over the years, we acquired great receptionists, some outstanding nurses, and above all, many wonderful patients. The practice continued to grow. It started as a little ladies practice as one observer dubbed it, and became a thriving family practice known for high quality, caring medical care.
In 2007 we sold the practice to Dr Clare Donnelly, who had worked with us for quite some years. She changed the business name to Glenorie District Medical Centre and built an excellent, purpose-built surgery at 920B Old Northern Road. We both continued to work at the practice for many more years. Glenorie has changed a great deal since 1984, and the practice has modernised in tune with the times.
Drs Belinda and Sheila Lorenzo now own the business. Now the practice is much larger, has more doctors, more nurses, pathology services and other medical services, but continues to be a real family general practice, as it always was. The Glenorie Medical Centre of old lives on in good hands.
Pip Gibian and Molly Hyslop
