Sue Bagshaw – A ‘Treasure’ for Adolescents and their Providers Around the World

Guest post by David Bennett

The name, Dr Sue Bagshaw is synonymous with the advent, evolution and success of youth health and development in Christchurch, New Zealand at large and well beyond.

Highly respected within the Society of Youth Health Professionals Aotearoa New Zealand, Bagshaw has pursued a career dedicated to providing and promoting joined-up healthcare for vulnerable young people. In addition to her work as a committed primary health care physician in Christchurch, Bagshaw serves as the Director of the Collaborative for Research and Development in Youth Health and Development Trust, is a Senior Lecturer in Paediatrics at the University of Otago, and a key contributor to other prestigious organisations and initiatives devoted to the health and well-being of young people in New Zealand and beyond.

Known for her passion for enhancing the health of young people around the world, Bagshaw was elected as IAAH’s fourth President in 2001. During her tenure with IAAH, she worked tirelessly to solidify the incorporation of IAAH in Canada (where longstanding Secretary-Treasurer, Jean-Yves Frappier and our bank account were ensconced). She worked with the IAAH Council to strategically revise IAAH’s constitution to better represent the goals and mission of IAAH along with crafting specific job descriptions for Regional Vice Presidents. Bagshaw was the driving force for upgrading the IAAH website and transitioning the newsletter to an electronic version for easier and wider distribution.  She was instrumental in negotiating formal liaison between IAAH and the Executive of the Society for Adolescent Medicine (now known as the Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine) and also played significant roles in the preparation and execution of the IAAH World Congresses in Bahia, Salvador Brazil (2001) and Lisbon, Portugal (2005).

In the aftermath of the recent massacre in Christchurch, in their quiet yet powerful way, Bagshaw and her partner, Dr Phil Bagshaw, are again providing pro bono support to survivors and their families. In her own words: “Yes, it has been tough and still is – we have gathered together volunteer counsellors and psychologists (as they had done following the devastating earthquakes there in 2011). Coordination of the response across Government departments has been impressive but as that drops off, I think it will be hard. All immigrants of colour are now feeling scared and that will take time to recover.”

An esteemed colleague, Associate Professor Simon Denny (newly appointed Clinical Director of the innovative Mater Young Adults Health Centre in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia) shared the following thought: “Sue is just awesome. Everyone who works in youth health in New Zealand knows her and has benefited from her wonderful optimism and wisdom. She is a true Taonga – Maori for ‘treasure’ in the largest sense of the word.”