Paediatric surgeon Udaya Samarakkody has been up since the early hours, called into Waikato Hospital for an emergency operation on a baby.
Back home in Tamahere by mid-morning, she is preparing for a full day of consultations and a possible return to the hospital.
Paediatric surgeon Udaya Samarakkody is a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to paediatric surgery and the Sri Lankan community. Photo: Mary Anne Gill
At 65, there is little thought of slowing down, nor much chance of it given there is a shortage of paediatric surgeons in New Zealand and only four at Waikato Hospital with one long-term vacancy.
“I actually really like my work and I feel that I’m still very competent,” she says.
It is that commitment which has earned her appointment as a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in this year’s King’s Birthday Honours, recognising more than three decades of service to paediatric surgery and the Sri Lankan community in New Zealand.
For Samarakkody, the work has always been more than a career.
“Some people might think it is a job, but to me it’s a calling,” she says.
“Seeing somebody healed, leaving the hospital … there’s no other job that can give you that satisfaction.”
Born and trained in Sri Lanka, she was already a qualified paediatric surgeon when she and husband Ruwan Fernando made the decision to leave in 1995. It was prompted in part by the country’s civil war, after she experienced a bomb blast while sitting in traffic on the way to collect her son Sachi from school.
Paediatric surgeon Udaya Samarakkody, pictured with husband Ruwan Fernando, is a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to paediatric surgery and the Sri Lankan community. Photo: Mary Anne Gill
New Zealand offered both safety and opportunity. Arriving in Waikato as a locum, she quickly established herself in what she still considers a remarkably supportive workplace.
“I just couldn’t believe how good New Zealand was when I first arrived. People were so nice,” she says.
Over the years she has become a cornerstone of paediatric surgical care in the region, treating children from birth to their mid-teens and handling everything from congenital abnormalities to trauma cases.
“Trauma is what makes you really, really feel bad,” she says quietly, describing the children whose injuries cannot be overcome.
But it is the resilience of young patients that sustains her. Unlike adult medicine, she says, most children recover.
“We actually see healing rather than devastation of illness and death. That gives you so much joy.”
Her career highlights include being part of the complex 22-hour surgery in 2004 to separate conjoined twins, one of seven surgeons and 55 health professionals involved.
Alongside clinical work, she has trained dozens of surgeons and continues to mentor young doctors, particularly women entering what was once a male-dominated field. More than 50 surgeons have passed through her guidance.
Udaya Samarakkody in surgery at Waikato Hospital. Photo: Supplied
Her influence extends well beyond medicine. A passionate advocate for culture and community, she has spent decades supporting Sri Lankan families in Waikato, helping young people stay connected to their heritage.
Dance is central to that. Trained in classical and Latin styles, she now teaches and choreographs, including leading colourful Sri Lankan performances in the Waikato Hospital staff revue.
“I train people … to get participation of the young ones to have an identity,” she says.
Those efforts reflect her wider belief in nurturing potential, whether in a surgical trainee or a child discovering their culture.
Family remains at the heart of her life. She and Fernando have two children, both in the medical field. Sachi, 40, is a dentist and Shani, 30, a surgical registrar at Whanganui Hospital.
Her 93-year-old mother still lives in Sri Lanka, though visits are difficult to arrange with the demands of her work.
The timing of her honour carries added personal meaning.
Her late father died several years ago on June 1, the same date the awards are announced.
“I imagine if he was alive … he would have been so proud,” she says.
For now, there is little thought of retirement. Surgery demands steady hands and a sharp mind, she says, and she knows the day will come when it is time to step aside.
But not yet.
As long as she can, Samarakkody will keep answering the call, whether it comes at 3am or in the middle of an already busy day, continuing the work she believes she was meant to do.
Paediatric surgeon Udaya Samarakkody at home in Tamahere is a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to paediatric surgery and the Sri Lankan community. Photo: Mary Anne Gill
