Dr. Jibin Thomas completed his Basic physician training at Eastern Health, where he established his interest in respiratory and sleep medicine. He completed his specialist training in Respiratory and Sleep Medicine at Western and Austin Health.

Dr. Thomas is a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (FRACP). He likes all facets of Respiratory and Sleep Medicine with interests in asthma and sleep disordered breathing. He sees patients with all kind of respiratory disorders including asthma, COPD, Bronchiectasis, sarcoidosis, ILD, lung nodules etc. Currently, Dr. Thomas works at the Department of Respiratory Medicine at the Northern Hospital. He also runs a severe asthma and allergy clinic at the Northern Health. Dr. Thomas is actively involved in teaching undergraduate and Physician trainees at the Northern Health.

He has admitting rights and provides peri-operative care at Northern Private and Warringal Private Hospitals. 

He is a member of the Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand (TSANZ), Australian Sleep Association (ASA), American Thoracic Society (ATS) and European Respiratory Society (ERS).

Dr Richard To is an experienced Medical Oncologist committed to providing care at every stage of a patient’s care journey. He treats all types of solid organ cancer, with a particular focus on gastrointestinal and urogenital cancers. Richard is completing his PhD at the University of Melbourne, where his research focuses on the impact of emerging cancer technologies and treatments on healthcare systems. He also holds post-graduate research and educational roles at the University of Melbourne, teaching other professionals working within oncology. Throughout his clinical and research work, Richards is dedicated to prioitising patient preferences and improving their quality of life.

Mr Fidel Touma is an experienced General Surgeon with an interest in Laparoscopic surgery and Endoscopiy. Fidel is a fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS) and holds appointments as a consultant general surgeon at Northern Health, Epping. Mr Touma undertook the General Surgery Fellow position at Northern Health between 2016-2018, before being appointed as a Consultant General Surgeon with Northern Health.

He is a graduate of the Faculty of Medicine at Damascus University where he completed medical training in 1993 and then completed his training in General & Laparoscopic Surgery in 1998. Mr Touma was the founder of laparoscopic general surgery in the province of Hama, Syria, and extensively contributed to the education and training of laparoscopic surgery for more than 15 years. He was Director of Surgery at Assuqaylabiyah Public Hospital in Syria in 2006 and held this position until he fled the country due to the Syrian Civil War, then he migrated to Australia with his family in 2014.

Throughout his tenure as a general surgeon, Mr Touma has always strived to gain new insights and techniques to advance his practice to the forefront of the surgical arena. Mr Touma practices gastroscopy and colonoscopy in addition to a wide range of general surgeries including gut surgery (Gastrointestinal) including weight loss surgery, hernias, breast and thyroid surgery as well as skin surgery and lumps and bumps. He has an interest in laparoscopic procedures and repairing complex hernias.

Mr Touma is fluent in Arabic and likes to work with people from different cultural backgrounds, promoting respect and inclusion of people from all walks of life.

Emily works publicly at the Northern Hospital in Epping. Her private consulting rooms are in Preston. She has admitting rights at Northern Private Hospital in Epping and Frances Perry Hospital in Parkville. For patients living in the appropriate catchment, she can provide direct booking to the public operating waiting lists of the Northern Hospital.

Emily’s drive to become an expert laparoscopic surgeon is reflected in her training journey.  

After graduating as an obstetrician and gynaecologist (FRANZCOG) in 2019, she undertook a fellowship from the Australasian Gynaecological Endoscopy and Surgery Society (AGES). She spent two years in a tertiary hospital in New Zealand upskilling in complex, minimally invasive surgery, especially the care of severe endometriosis.

Emily carried out her basic training at The Royal Women’s Hospital in Parkville. Her senior registrar years were spent as the principal gynaecology registrar at RWH and pursuing extra rotations in Darwin, Sunshine and Epworth Freemasons. 

Emily was raised on the Mornington Peninsula and obtained a double degree in medicine and arts from the University of Melbourne in 2009.

Emily is known amongst her friends and family for loving a big task. She does event cooking, is an advanced seamstress and enjoys reupholstering furniture. She usually has a crossword tucked away somewhere and a podcast recommendation at the ready.

Professor William van Gaal is the Director of Cardiology at Northern Health. He is also the Executive Divisional Director of Emergency Services at Northern Health which incorporates the Emergency Department, Intensive Care Unit and Cardiology Department.

He is a dual trained Interventional Cardiologist and Nuclear Physician. His main interest is treating chest pain and coronary artery disease (blockages of the heart arteries). He has recently served as the President of the Victorian Division of the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand.

Professor van Gaal graduated from the University of Melbourne (MBBS) in 1995. After achieving fellowship (FRACP) in nuclear medicine and cardiology, he moved to the United Kingdom in 2004 where he undertook a 4 year Fellowship in Interventional Cardiology (stenting blocked arteries) at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford.

During his time in Oxford he performed over 1000 interventional procedures including advanced techniques in complex coronary disease. He undertook his own randomised controlled trial examining the use of stents to replace the need for cardiac bypass surgery. During his time in Oxford Professor van Gaal completed a three year Masters in Evidence Based Medicine at the University of Oxford (MSc).

In late 2007 he returned to Australia to commence the Cardiology unit at Northern Health, where he commenced the interventional cardiology program - which now supports the northern community with 24/7 access to emergency cardiology procedures. Shortly after returning to Australia he completed his 3 year Doctor of Medicine (MD) at the University of Melbourne examining the mechanisms and prevention of heart injury during heart procedures. He subsequently gained Fellowship to the Australian Cardiac Society (FCSANZ) and subsequently the European Society of Cardiology for his efforts in research and leadership in the cardiology community (FESC).

Professor Van Gaal is very widely published in the international literature with over 100 manuscripts in peer reviewed journals on the topics of heart disease, interventional procedures and techniques, and the mechanisms and prevention of heart injury during heart surgery and heart procedures. He has been principal investigator on over 30 international trials including first-inhuman trials, and recruited the first patient worldwide into a trial of a novel liquid device to prevent heart failure following heart attacks which achieved international acclaim.

His research interests include minimally invasive heart procedures that can replace the need for cardiac bypass surgery, cholesterol lowering agents including intravenous therapy to raise HDL (good cholesterol) and lower LDL (bad cholesterol), novel blood thinners for patients with heart disease, as well as new treatments for people with diabetes and heart disease. Professor van Gaal was the Australian lead cardiologist for a study in patients with stents who need blood thinners and has presented these findings at a national and interventional level. He leads the quality unit for Emergency Services at Northern Health and has a keen interest in researching new models of care to minimise the risk of harm to patients admitted to hospital with heart disease.

Professor van Gaal has served on the Victorian Cardiac Clinical Network Leadership committee. He was secretary of the Victorian Cardiac Society for three years before serving as the President of the Victorian Cardiac Society between 2016 until 2018. He currently serves on the steering committee, clinical quality committee and publishing committee of the Victorian Cardiac Outcomes Registry. He chairs the New Technology committee and Northern Health, as well as the Quality committee and ethics committee.

Above all, Bill is known for the care and pride he takes in explaining to patients in simple terms the exact nature and cause of their condition, helping them understand the treatment options available, and offering new or innovative therapies that are available to treat their condition.

Qualifications

• Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS)
• Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (FRACP)
• Masters of Evidence Based Medicine (MSc) 2009
• Doctor of Medicine (MD) 2010
• Fellow of the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand (FCSANZ)
• Fellow of the European Society of Cardiology (FESC)
• Cardiovascular research
• Nuclear Medicine and coronary perfusion (blood supply to the heart muscle)

Dr. Linda Walmsley fully believes that life wants to happen, and reproductive services should be more accessible to all. She is from South Africa, where her work in both urban and rural centres opened her eyes to the significant inequality and differences that are present in access to women’s healthcare.

Linda completed her undergraduate and postgraduate training in South Africa. After receiving her fellowship, she worked and taught at a busy university hospital for 5 years, while continuing further training in reproductive medicine. Linda moved to Melbourne in 2016 to open a new low-cost IVF clinic where she worked in Fertility medicine for eight years.
 

Dr Henry Wong graduated from the University of Melbourne in 2010.His advanced training was completed at Austin, Northern, Monash and Alfred Health, and in 2019 he attained his dual fellowship from the Royal Australasian College of Physicians in both Endocrinology and General Medicine. He currently holds public senior staff specialist appointments at both Northern and Peninsula Health. Dr Wong is involved in junior medical staff education, and he is also the educational supervisor for a number of basic physician trainees. Dr Wong is compassionate, approachable, and strives to provide excellent patient centred care with a focus on good communication and a holistic approach to medical management plans.

Dr Wong is an Infectious disease and General Medical Physician; with a broad interest in common acute and chronic infections, diabetic foot infections, infections in immunocompromised patients, preventative health and medical education. After graduating in 2002, Dr Wong completed her advanced training at Northern Health, Western Health, and Austin Health. She is a visiting General Medical and Infectious Disease physician across several networks including Northern Health, Northern Private, Peninsula Health and Wangaratta Health. Dr Wong is pleased to see referrals for both Infectious Diseases and General Medical consultations.

Dr Wai Mun (Raymond) Wong is a Respiratory and Sleep Medicine Physician. He completed his medical degree at the University of Melbourne and underwent training in respiratory and sleep medicine at Peninsula Health, Austin Health and the Victorian Respiratory Support Service (VRSS).

Upon completion of training, he was conferred Fellowship in the Royal Australasian College of Physicians. 

Dr Wong has experience in managing general respiratory conditions (asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), interstitial lung disease, bronchiectasis, pleural conditions) and sleep disorders. He is also competent in providing care for patients with complicated ventilatory diseases, having obtained training at VRSS.

He has an interest in lung cancer diagnosis and chronic airway diseases management and has published several articles in these fields.

Dr Wong is trained in bronchoscopy and has undergone further training in Endobronchial Ultrasound (EBUS) which is pivotal in the diagnosis of lung cancer. He has completed a Certificate in Clinical Performed Ultrasound (CCPU) in pleural diseases.

Dr Wong is a member of Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand (TSANZ), Australasian Sleep Association (ASA), European Respiratory Society (ERS) and Australasian Society for Ultrasound in Medicine (ASUM). He holds public appointments as a respiratory and sleep medicine physician at Austin Health. He also consults at Warringal Private and Mitcham Private hospitals.

Dr Wong understands that every patient’s journey is different. He adopts a patientcentred approach and enjoys partnering with other health professionals to deliver cohesive multidisciplinary care. He also offers bulk-billing respiratory function testing and sleep studies through his clinic. Additionally, he is able to converse in both Mandarin and Cantonese.