I joined the clinical advisor team at WellSouth in September 2023. I'm a general practitioner in Wanaka, having moved with my young family to New Zealand in 2022. When I'm not working or parenting my two young children, I can be found running, biking or skiing in the beautiful mountains I'm lucky to have on my doorstep. I am passionate about the benefits of non-medical ('lifestyle') interventions for physical, mental, and planetary health, as well as social prescribing. I'm an advocate for the unique and vital role general practice has in improving the health of the communities we serve, especially when working in partnership with other community assets and local providers.
I joined WellSouth in late 2023 in the role of Pou Haumanu – Clinical Advisor Māori. I whakapapa to Ngati Tūwharetoa (Turangi), Ngati Raukawa ki te Tonga (based in the Horowhenua region), and to Ngati Kuia (Nelson/Marlborough). I am a registered clinical psychologist with a PhD in psychology and I’ve come to WellSouth after having worked as a clinician within the Department of Corrections, as well as Wakari Hospital, Dunedin Public Hospital, and Oranga Tamariki. In addition to working part‑time for WellSouth, I also work as a Senior Professional Practice Fellow in the Clinical Psychology Programme at University of Otago, and I run a small private practice seeing predominantly Māori clients. I’m also a māmā to three school‑aged tamariki. My clinical expertise is in the area of early developmental trauma and later life health outcomes, with a particular focus on the role that the hypothalamic‑pituitary‑adrenal (HPA) axis plays in stress regulation. I am passionate about improving health outcomes for whānau Māori and I am happy to answer questions about providing quality care for Māori.
I work as a Clinical Advisor to WellSouth on the development and clinical applications of Thalamus, along with the fabulous IT guys and Glen Knol, who you may meet as a practice relationship manager. Having a GP in the team gives real-world insight into what would be useful to the clinical team. Any feedback on Thalamus gratefully received!
I have been working for WellSouth since last year, now leading the above projects run by WellSouth with ACC funding. I strongly believe in the value of all of these to our patients here in the South. Originally from Scotland and qualifying in Aberdeen, I have spent the vast majority of my practicing life here in Otago/Southland from when I arrived in 1988 as a house surgeon. I spent 10 years in Invercargill with hospital time as an Orthopaedic registrar, 15 months in Paediatrics and a diploma in O+G before general practitioner training and a subsequent 5 years as a general practitioner in Don Street and at the Alliance Lorneville plant! I then worked as a full-time general practitioner in Queenstown for many years with snowsports and mountain biking keeping me busy at work and play. I have been a long-term practice owner and at various times a managing director and CEO of a large medical centre and led Cornerstone and more recently, Health Care Home accreditation. I have been a general practitioner teacher and supervisor an ACC GPSI and am a firm believer in the work of specialist general practitioners. I have tried to contribute positively at a regional level and have been involved in many discussions around models of care in rural and “isolated urban areas” both regionally and nationally. A contribution to rural funding allocation discussions brought my first and very positive experience of WellSouth’s role, and I am keen to continue to contribute positively with projects that bring value to patients through best use of care.
I have joined WellSouth as a GP-hospital liaison in a part-time role working alongside Dr Andy Shute. I also work as a general practitioner at Broadway Medical Centre in Dunedin alongside this. I completed my medical training at the University of Manchester in the UK in 2012. In 2014, I moved to Dunedin, working at the hospital and enjoying the outdoor experiences that Otago and the South Island have to offer. Following this, I returned to the UK and completed further medical training (MRCP & MRCGP), and undertook roles in health policy, academia, and teaching. This included working at the Population Health Research Institute at St George’s University of London, contributing to research and the undergraduate teaching program. I also worked at NHS-England, where I was involved in a number of national health policy workstreams, including optimising primary and secondary care interface working, professional leadership development, and patient safety. I am passionate about the key role that primary care teams provide, and the importance of developing a truly integrated care system. I am looking forward to getting to know practices and, like Andy, am very happy to visit in person or via Teams to introduce myself and/or receive feedback and suggestions. If you have anything you would like to feedback or discuss further, please drop me a line.
I was appointed as the first Clinical Advisor for WellSouth in 2019 and it is great to have a team of us working together now. I am a huge advocate of our specialty and believe that the more of us frontline clinicians working in leadership roles, the better for Primary care and our patients. I am a born and bred Londoner and graduated from University College London and the Royal Free Medical School in 2004. I qualified as a GP, attaining MRCGP in 2009, and worked in Kent and London in multiple roles before emigrating to New Zealand in 2015. After spending 2 years travelling and working in practices across the South Island, I settled in Murihiku, Southland, and achieved Fellowship in 2016. I live in the peace and quiet of Winton surrounds with my husband and 4-year-old son. I have worked in various education streams with the UK RCGP from 2008 and attained a Post Graduate Certificate of Education. Upon arriving in New Zealand, I have picked up the equivalent educational roles that I held in the UK. I am a GP at Winton Medical Services which has a great embedded collegial and training culture. In my Clinical advisor role for WellSouth, my key role is placing and providing teaching and support for PGY2s in CBA scheme as well as some GP CME. I work with the RNZCGP as Lead Medical Educator for Southland’s GPEP1 programme and as a Medical Educator for facilitating learning groups for GPEP2/3s. I have been involved in supervising Medical Students, Nurse and Paramedic Practitioners in the UK and also NZ. I also hold various other roles such as Clinical Editor for Southern Community HealthPathways, PAC assessor for MCNZ, SPPF for Otago Medical School, and education sessions for MobileHealth and others.
I have been working part-time for WellSouth since 2020 as Clinical Advisor and general practitioner liaison for Southland hospital before expanding to cover the whole Southern Region. Originally from the UK, I moved to NZ in 2008, completed general practitioner training in Christchurch in 2012, gaining Fellowship in 2015. I moved back to Waihōpai/Invercargill in 2018 and recently became an owner/director at Queens Park Medical Centre where I work 6/10 at the coal face and 2/10 for WellSouth (every Thursday). I am also a RNZCGP GPEP1 teacher and GPEP2-3+ visiting medical educator for the Southern region. My wife is a Consultant Anaesthetist at Southland Hospital, and I have 2 school age boys. My aim in the liaison role has been to foster clinical relationships and build communication between primary and secondary care with a focus on collaboration. I have been providing primary care perspectives to working groups and initiatives while working with secondary care teams to develop greater understanding of primary care systems, expertise, capacity, funding, and challenges. I field and communicate concerns and feedback between primary and secondary care, exploring barriers and solutions, and I regularly collaborate with hospital departments (both clinical and managerial), Health Pathways, and ERMS, with a strong focus on data and digital processes. I established the Primary Care Colleague referral pathway and the Transfer of Care framework, promoting respectful and appropriate communication from secondary to primary care. More recently, I have been working in the planned care area. If you have any issues, feedback, or questions that you would like support with or do not have time to manage, or if you are not sure how to approach a problem, please feel free to get in touch. I am not the right person to do everything, but I might know who that person is.
I was born and raised in Samoa and am of Samoan and Fijian descent. I completed my undergraduate studies at the Fiji School of Medicine, and later a diploma in Child Health from the University of Sydney while completing my GP fellowship in Wagga Wagga, Australia. I have worked in Samoa, Auckland, Cairns, and Canberra hospitals, where I worked extensively in adult internal medicine. I also held a role as a Senior Clinical Lecturer in internal medicine at the James Cook University in Cairns. In 2020, after over 11 years of practice in Australia, I moved to Dunedin. I am currently the Associate Dean Pacific for the University of Otago, Dunedin School of Medicine as well as the Pacific Clinical Advisor for Wellsouth PHO. I work clinically one day a week at Dunedin Urgent Doctors After Hours Care. As the Clinical Advisor, Pasifika, my role is to advocate for equitable health services to improve the health and well-being of the Pacific communities in the Otago and Southland region. This is an area I'm passionate about and I advocate for a fit-for-purpose model of care that addresses inequities to help 'close the gap' and improve health outcomes for all Pacific people in the Otago and Southland region. I work closely with Pacific providers and the Pacific communities.