TEDxNewy Speaker Peter Saul: “We Are All Destined To Die”

by Nick Turner on November 10, 2011

Born from the simple thought of wanting to share with the world the clever and creative side of Newcastle, TEDxNewy will be staged this coming Saturday. The brainchild of proud Novocastrian Siobhan Curran, TEDxNewy is an independent event that discusses ideas worth spreading.

The sold-out daylong gig at the Civic Theatre Playhouse will feature talks to an audience of 200 people by professors, storytellers and artists who are contributing to the vast potential that is Newcastle’s future. The theme for TEDxNewy is ‘Shock of the New’ - new thinking from Newcastle and new ideas for the world.

Urban Insider had the chance to catch up with one of the speakers for TEDxNewy, Dr Peter Saul.

Dr Saul is Senior Intensivist in the adult and paediatric ICU at John Hunter Hospital, and Director of Intensive Care at Newcastle Private Hospital. Having trained in Cambridge, London, Sydney and Harvard, he came to Newcastle to help start up the new ICU at John Hunter and never left.

Having been deeply involved in the dying process of over 4,000 patients in the past 35 years, Peter has taken an interest in how we die and how this has changed beyond all recognition in a single generation.

We started off by asking Dr Saul about his topic, ‘Dying in 21st Century Australia…

What can you tell us about your TEDxNewy topic – Dying in 21st century Australia – a new experience for all of us?

We are all destined to die (though 15% of people surveyed apparently do not believe this). We will be a little older than the last generation, but this small change has drastic implications. Almost all of us will in future die in hospital from complications of chronic disease, in most cases following a decision made by our family that “enough is enough”. We have had no preparation for this - not the doctors, not the dying and not our families. My talk is set to float some big ideas as to how this could change.

Why do you try to deny being an ethicist?

Everybody is an ethicist. In particular, all doctors are aware of the ethical issues surrounding their work. If there is a separate role, maybe it is just to provide some gentle education for us and our bureaucratic superiors about the importance of stepping back now and then, taking a breath and making sure we are doing the right thing.

What has been your proudest achievement to date?

Sticking with the same job for 30 odd years. And still enjoying it.

What is your favourite quote?

“There is always an easy solution to every human problem - neat, plausible, and wrong.” H L Mencken 1917.

What is your favourite thing about Newcastle?

It’s the best place on earth to live and not a soul knows about it. Lonely Planet calls it one of the ten best cities on the planet and everybody just laughs (even the locals). How cool is that?

What do you think events like TEDxNewy mean for Newcastle?

Newcastle, called a “brown town” by Les Murray only a couple of decades ago, is finding a new future and a new identity. These days you are as likely to find ideas worth sharing in Newcastle as anywhere in the world. Maybe it’s time to let a few of our close friends know.

For those of you who want to be a part of the day, but missed out on a seat at The Playhouse, the talks will be screened live at an overflow venue in City Hall’s Mulubinba Room from 9am. Alternatively, anyone with the internet can watch the talks via the live webstream at the TEDxNewy website.

You can read about TEDxNewy speaker Julie Baird here.