By JOHN JENNINGS
DR Zeiyad Al-Mayahe – the GP who loves people, has retired after 25 years service in Gippsland.
I asked Dr Zeiyad (the name by which he is best known) which came first – people or medicine.
He was quick to reply, “I always wanted to be a doctor since I was very young.”
Born in 1963 in Iraq where his father was a judge, the young man attended medical school with a special interest in surgery, and in 2000 migrated to Australia with his wife Mary. They have a daughter who is a pharmacist.
His first posting, in Gippsland, was at Latrobe Regional Hospital in 2000 and he later joined the Hollie Drive Medical Centre at Morwell (from 2006 to 2018) with his trademark method of greeting patients by bounding out of his chair with a huge smile and hand extended.
Instead of asking, “How are you?” his greeting was often, “Good to see you” and he was always ready to respond to staff.
Dr Zeiyad tended to keep an eye on his patient instead of his computer while he swiftly carried out a blood pressure test if required.
Although his command of English (should that be Australian?) could leave some patients a bit unsure, there was nothing unsure about the GP’s reputation for quickly diagnosing an ailment with the confidence of his 37 years in practical medicine.
After Dr Zeiyad finished at Morwell, he took leave including time at his Point Cook home before joining the Hillcrest Family Clinic at Traralgon in 2021 until his retirement at the end of June – after many of his devoted Morwell patients had followed him along the highway.
The GP who enjoys medicine, people and soccer intends to have a spell and then some travel overseas.
