Pioneering eye surgeon hands over the reins...

Pioneering eye surgeon Dr Bill Glasson has been a common sight in the bush over the past three decades. 

But his yearly pilgrimage to isolated western Queensland is coming to an end, with Dr Glasson preparing to "hang up his spurs" and hand over the reins. 

Born in Winton and raised in Barcaldine, the Brisbane-based ophthalmologist spends about a month in the bush every year performing surgeries and procedures that could otherwise only be done in the city.

Typical surgeries involved cataracts removal and the treatment of glaucoma, he said. 

He first started making the trip on the invitation of Dr Tom Murphy, a longtime Longreach doctor whose own efforts to champion the bush were recognised with an Order of Australia Medal in 2005. 

"Thirty years ago a very famous GP called Dr Tom Murphy rang me and said the current ophthalmologist was retiring, and could I come out and provide the service," Dr Glasson said.

"Having been born and bred out here - I was born in Winton before moving to Barcaldine in my teenage years - it didn't take much temptation to come out ," he said.

Dr Glasson said he spent a month in rural Queensland every year across three trips, which took him to places such as Blackall, Barcaldine, Longreach and Winton and even as far afield as Boulia and Windorah.

Although Dr Glasson would continue to practise medicine in Brisbane, he said now was the time to hand over the visiting ophthalmologist role. 

He said he was a touch wistful at the prospect but ultimately confident the service was in good hands. 

He also said he was heartened by the improvements in healthcare he had seen in his time working in rural Queensland.

"In one sense I feel a little bit sad, but I am excited by the fact that we have got a better and better service out here," he said. 

"We've done 60 cases this week in Longreach, and will be seeing probably 300 to 350 outpatients.

"That service has expanded and I believe it's a very high quality service.'

Across 30 years of outback medicine there was one anecdote that stuck in Dr Glasson's mind. 

He remembered a man who was near-blind showing up to a clinic in Blackall on horseback and with his dog trailing behind him. 

When the man was asked how he made his way there despite barely being able to see, he told Dr Glasson that all he had to do was ask his horse to lead the way.

Longreach Hospital's acting nursing director Colin Green hailed Dr Glasson as a pioneer for the way he had set-up the visiting specialist program. 

"Because we are so isolated from the big cities, it's quite unique to have a specialist like Dr Glasson come out with his crew," he said. 

"By having him here, it makes it a lot easier for people from surrounding areas, rather than going into Brisbane or Rockhampton. It's just more convenient."

Although Dr Glasson would be handing over the running of the program, neither he or Mr Green expected he would be able to completely stay away.

"Retiring is a bit daunting," Mr Green said.

"Whether he will stay tools down, I think not. Once the bush is in your blood, it stays."

Dr Glasson agreed.

"Wherever you are born, that's where home is," Dr Glasson said. 

"My heart is always in the bush."