One year ago reporter Steve Evans suffered a major knee injury in Canberra. He tracked down some of the medical staff who have cared for him to express his gratitude and to learn more about what inspires their work.

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You'd sometimes think from outside Canberra Hospital that it was in crisis, a morass of bullying and bad behaviour.

But it's not like that. I can testify because I've been there frequently for the past year - and it's been wonderful.

I smashed my knee at the end of 2024. In the year since, it seemed like I've had a season ticket there. Every time I've gone for treatment, I've come away feeling better about humanity. I go in feeling the gruffness of the city and come out uplifted by the kindness of strangers.

In my experience, the staff display an unflappable good humour. They deal with the public in all its moods from gentle to in-your-face angry.

Take the case of registered nurse Kathleen McPartland who sorted out the stitches after my shattered knee had been wired back together.

"I am quite a positive person, and if there are those rotten apples, you just think, what's their life been like that they're like this? At the end of the day, I'm blessed to have my own life, I'm very blessed," she said.

"The majority of people are wonderful."

Patients who behave badly are "only a small few"."

Occasionally, one of the small few confronts her:........

© Canberra Times