Dr James Winearls' Story
From ICU doctor to ICU patient – Dr James Winearls had to fight for his life.
In the blink of an eye, life can change forever. Dr James Winearls, an ICU Consultant and ECMO Clinical Lead at Gold Coast University Hospital (GCUH), has witnessed this countless times. Leading the hospital’s ECMO Service, he fights to save the sickest patients using cutting-edge life support technology. Thanks to the Gold Coast Hospital Foundation’s donation of a mobile ECMO life support vehicle, Dr Winearls and his team now bring this life-saving care directly to patients in critical need.
But last Christmas, his life took an unexpected turn – transforming from doctor to patient as he fought for his own survival.
What began as a joyful Christmas with family quickly turned into turmoil. Dr Winearls developed a fever and persistent headache, initially dismissing it as a virus. “Every night, I thought I’d feel better in the morning, but every morning, I felt worse,” he recalls. Then one day, he woke up struggling to breathe. He rushed to a nearby hospital, where he received antibiotics and oxygen, but his condition continued to deteriorate. His ICU colleagues decided he needed urgent care and transferred him to the GCUH ICU.
“When I arrived at GCUH by ambulance, I burst into tears,” Dr Winearls shares. “It was incredibly emotional to suddenly find myself as a patient in the ICU where I had worked for the last decade. It was surreal and confronting, but at the same time, I was deeply relieved to see my medical and nursing colleagues. They were incredibly caring, professional, and compassionate—it gave me a new perspective on the amazing work they do every day.”
As a patient, Dr Winearls experienced the ICU in a way he never had before. “When I was so sick, I didn’t care about the medical side—I just wanted to get better,” he explains. He describes the ICU as a challenging environment for patients, where even basic tasks like eating, dressing, or going to the toilet can become impossible. “You lose so much dignity and independence,” he reflects. “Even though as a team we do our best to support our patients through this, it’s still incredibly hard for them, and it was for me too.”
This experience profoundly shaped his understanding of his patients’ struggles. “Being in that position gave me a deeper insight and appreciation for what our patients go through,” he says. “We are all compassionate to begin with, but this has given me a greater understanding of the human side of ICU care.” Dr Winearls knows the importance of having the right combination of equipment, care and environment to help with patient’s recovery, knowing full well without the talent and dedication of his team, and access to vital medical equipment, he may not have survived his time in ICU.
As he reflects on his time as a patient in the ICU, Dr Winearls gained a new perspective on the incredible care provided by his colleagues. While he had always held deep respect for their work, experiencing it firsthand left a lasting impression. “I was treated with the most amazing dignity and care—not just by the nurses and doctors, but by every member of the multidisciplinary team,” he shares. Though he knew this level of compassion is extended to every patient, living it himself gave him an even greater appreciation for the extraordinary dedication of his team.
Dr Winearls spent 10 days in the ICU before moving to the ward, where he stayed for several weeks. His recovery was slow and arduous, and even after returning home, he struggled emotionally with the idea of going back to work in the very ICU where he had been a patient.
“My psychologist described it as if you get hit by a car, you don’t go back to the scene—but I was going back to work in the room where my team had saved my life. It took a while for me to feel like myself again,” he shares.
Photo 1 - Dr Winearls with his ICU team and patient Amelia, last years Gold Coast Hospital Foundation Ambassador. Photo 2 - Dr Winearls with Ellen Stokes, GC Health Clinical Nurse Consultant with the recently donated Mobile ECMO Service vehicle.
Now, almost a year later, Dr Winearls reflects on his journey with gratitude and a renewed perspective on life. “Bad things happen when you least expect it, no matter how healthy or fit you are,” he says. “The experience gave me a renewed appreciation for life and for my loved ones. Live for the moment, enjoy what you have, and make the most of happy times with family and friends—life is not guaranteed. People can fall unwell at any time.”
This holiday season, Dr Winearls reminds us that critical illness can affect anyone—friends, parents, children, or even those like him who spend their lives helping others. ICU staff work tirelessly to provide care, even during the holidays, ensuring patients and families receive the support they need during their toughest times.
Your donation could be the difference this Christmas. It could fund vital, life-saving equipment that will help our doctors and nurses enhance patient outcomes and ensure patients like Dr Winearls have access to the best possible health care when it is needed most, and that they get to spend another Christmas with their family. As Dr Winearls puts it: “Your donations mean so much. They don’t just save lives—they bring hope, comfort, and healing to families when they need it most. I’ve seen it as a doctor, and now I’ve experienced it as a patient.”
Please donate to the Gold Coast Hospital Foundation today and help those in critical need this Christmas.
