Meet the cardiologist who's helped thousands of Tasmanians after 60 years on the job

Over his six decades practising, Professor McTaggart has many honourable achievements.

In 1966, he established the first intensive care unit (ICU) in the state at the North West Regional Hospital, just three years after he was appointed as consulting physician for the North-West Coast.

Known then as the Burnie Hospital, Professor McTaggart and anaesthetist John Taylor set up the ground-breaking unit, training their own nursing staff in the process.

"It was the first ICU in a non-metropolitan hospital in Australia; it was quite an exciting time," he said.

"We did it for two reasons.

"We had a major problem with serious traffic accidents, which were presenting to a very small hospital - we needed an ICU unit."

Professor McTaggart stayed in that role for 20 years before moving to Launceston to become a cardiologist.

He became the first person to specialise in any field at the Launceston General Hospital (LGH).

"Well, as a general physician, a lot of the patients you see have cardiovascular problems. And I thought, well, that appeals to me, I'm interested in that," he said.

"I also found it appealing because you can very nearly do all of it on your own back, so it offers continuity of care for a patient, and you haven't got to depend on someone telling you what to do.

"So I became the first sub-specialist in Launceston, the first of any medical specialisation such as gastroenterology, renal physicians, and so on."

Reflecting on his career as a cardiologist, Professor McTaggart said he had witnessed many changes within the field and medical research more broadly.

"One of the things that reflect what's happened in cardiology was when I was in Burnie if you had a heart attack and went into the hospital with as a result of it, you had about a one in three chance of not coming out again," he said.

"Now the chances of survival are much better; the mortality rate is about five per cent.

"So there has been an enormous improvement."

Professor McTaggart was also the first cardiologist to use a cardiac ultrasound in Tasmania, before even the Royal Hobart Hospital.

"I guess I've practiced cardiology a little differently to many of my colleagues," Professor McTaggart said.

"Firstly, I practiced on my own, and secondly, I aimed to do a complete assessment of the patient - that is, when I see a patient, I'll allow enough time to take a full history and examine them, do any tests which might be stress tests or ultrasounds, and do the whole lot in a single examination and then send them back, ideally back to their GP, with a plan of management.

"And that's a very satisfying way of practicing medicine, to ensure continuity of care, so you don't miss anything and get the complete picture of what's going on."

Professor McTaggart was then appointed coordinator of advanced training at the Australian and New Zealand Cardiac Committee, the body responsible for accrediting cardiologists and supervising training programs, enabling him to set up the current training opportunities at the LGH - the only regional hospital in Australia accepted to run the full three years of cardiologist training.

In 2000, the University of Tasmania granted Professor McTaggart an associate professorship.

Then, in 2019, he was awarded the Order of Australia for significant service to medicine as a cardiologist and to the community of Launceston.

"It was quite a big honor to be recognised like that," he said.

"One of the most important things, the thing that I attribute my successes to, was having a wife who was there every step of the way and did everything with you.

"My wife Judith passed away three years ago. We were married for 61 happy years."

With a fulfilling career behind him, Professor McTaggart is closing his private rooms at 18 Clarence Street, East Launceston.

But retiring completely isn't something he's comfortable doing - just yet.

"I'll continue teaching at the hospital, which I really enjoy," he said.

"And I'm a fishing fanatic; I might have more time to do some fishing now."