Shoalhaven Medical Association

Professor Ian Hickie is Co-Director, Health and Policy at The University of Sydney’s Brain and Mind Centre. He is an NHMRC Senior Principal Research Fellow (2013-2017 and 2018-22), having previously been one of the inaugural NHMRC Australian Fellows (2008-12). He was an inaugural Commissioner on Australia’s National Mental Health Commission (2012-18) overseeing enhanced accountability for mental health reform and suicide prevention. He is an internationally renowned researcher in clinical psychiatry, with particular reference to medical aspects of common mood disorders, depression and bipolar disorder.

He is now focused on the development of real-time personalized and measurement-based care systems for use in partnership with young people and their families.These systems promote early intervention, use of new and emerging technologies and suicide prevention. In his role with the National Mental Health Commission, and his independent research, health system and advocacy roles, Professor Hickie has been at the forefront of the move to have mental health and suicide prevention integrated with other aspects of health care (notably chronic disease and ambulatory care management).

Dr McKensey is a psychiatrist
and psychoanalytic psychotherapist working in private practice in Kiama.
He specialises in the psychological treatment of patients with complex problems that have not responded to other psychological or pharmacological treatments.

Dr McKensey is a accredited Balint Leader, with the Balint Society of Australian and New Zealand.
He has run Balint groups that help medical professionals understand and better manage the psychological aspects of caring for patients. He has run these groups across the spectrum from medial students, JMO’s, registrars and consultants. He has presented on Balint groups in Australia and overseas.

With Julie Carter, Director of the service and the MHS Executive, Dr Alcorn has implemented a range of new services in the Shoalhaven funded but the NSW Ministry of Health. In medical leadership roles in the public sector, David has worked with a range of primary care organisations in Brisbane, Melbourne and Tasmania.

He has also served as the Chair or board member of a number of not for profit organisations, including the junior doctor training accreditation agency, Postgraduate Medical Council of Queensland, the Wesley Research Institute and Queensland’s largest aged care provider Bluecare (now Uniting
Care).

Leah has worked in the Acute Inpatient Mentral Health Units for the last 13 years as a Registeed Nurse and also as a Clinical Nurse Specialist. She was delegated the role of ‘Patient Flow Manager’ for the Mental Health Services covering the Emergency Departments from Ulladulla to Wollongong for a period of one year and has been appointed the position as NUM of the Sub-Acute Unit Mental Health at Shoalhaven District Memorial Hospital since March 2021.

David is Service Manager of Headspace Nowra. He is educated in Clinical Psychology and has a background in Child and Family, child protection and Medico-Legal assessment.

Alex is Clinical Lead of Headspace Nowra. She is educated in Clinical Psychology with a background in Suicide Prevention, suicide attempt after care and a clinical supervisor of staff and students.

This is the third in a series of COVID Updates from Dr Pratt. He will speak of the current situation in Australia and on the vaccine-led way out of lockdowns and restrictions. This talk will be eagerly anticipated and appreciated as were the previous ones in March of this year and in October last year.

After training in Australia and Canada Dr Brennan has been a consultant neurosurgeon at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital for 21 years and has been running regular outreach clinics in Nowra since 2001.

For ten of these years he was supervisor of training for the RACS SET programme in Neurosurgery and is currently appointed to the RACS Court of Examiners in Neurosurgery having examined in the Fellowship exit examinations for the last six years. He has served as a Board member for the NSA, and for the last three years has been Head of Department of Neurosurgery. Other
hospital appointments include North Shore Private Hospital and the Chris O’Brien Lifehouse.

Dr Galea is a Genetic Pathologist and Director of Genetics at Douglass Hanly Moir Pathology, Sonic Healthcare.

She is the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia’s (RCPA) National Coordinator for Genetic Pathology Training, a member of the RCPA Genetic Advisory Committee and a member of the Evaluation Sub Committee of the Medical Services Advisory Committee.

Dr Galea has a particular interest in constitutional and reproductive genetics.

Dr Taylor is a Staff Specialist in General Medicine and Endocrinology at Shoalhaven Hospital and an Honorary Physician at Royal North Shore Hospital where he subspecialises in Obstetric Medicine.

His teaching experience includes lectures and ward rounds with Clinical Students, Interns, RMO’s and Registrars in Oxford (UK), Dubbo and the Shoalhaven. Since taking up his position in the Shoalhaven, he has taken a major role in the development of teaching programmes for both undergraduate students from the Universities of New South Wales and Sydney as well as postgraduates.

He is currently both Director of Clinical Training and Director of Physician Training.

Dr. Shweta Kumar is a Consultant Rheumatologist working in private practice in Shellharbour and Nowra. She sees a variety of Rheumatological conditions including Rheumatoid Arthritis, Psoriatic Arthritis, Autoimmune disease and Gout. She has a particular interest in connective tissue diseases and inflammatory conditions.

Dr. Kumar completed her MBBS at UNSW and graduated with Honours. She went on to complete a Masters of Medicine with the University of Sydney. She completed further specialty Physician and Rheumatology training at Royal Prince Alfred, Royal North Shore, Royal Newcastle and Canberra Hospitals.