"Wherever the art of medicine is
loved,
there is also a love of humanity."
Hippocrates 400BC
Jenny grew up in rural NSW and studied medicine at the University of Sydney, graduating in 1987. She has been a G.P. at the Yarralumla Surgery since 1993. Jenny’s special interests are Women’s Health and Paediatrics. She has a Diploma of Paediatrics and is a member of the Australasian Menopause Society. She has worked in the past for Family Planning Australia and the QE2 Family Centre. She has been the visiting GP to the Boarding House at Canberra Girls Grammar School since 1998. Jenny currently works as part time Clinical Coordinator for Breastscreen ACT. She is married, has 3 adult children and enjoys golf, cycling and walking with her dog.
Ruchi is the principal owner of Yarralumla surgery and loves being a family physician, a trait she inherited from her father. Women and child healthcare is her area of her special interest. Ruchi graduated from the prestigious Lady Harding Medical College in New Delhi. After moving to Canberra in 2001, she joined the Canberra Hospital. Subsequently, she obtained fellowship of RACGP and went on to complete diploma in Gynaecology, Obstetrics and Child Health. Ruchi also speaks Hindi and can understand Bengali, Panjabi and Urdu. In her spare time, she likes to work in her vegie patch and enjoys cooking and biking.
Antonio grew up in rural Italy and rural NSW and studied medicine at the University of Sydney, graduating in 1990. He has a diploma of Obstetrics and Fellowship of the College of General Practice, with special interests in sports, workplace, adolescents, paediatrics and psychology. He practised in Sydney for 15 years before moving to Canberra with his family. He was ACT AMA President till 2021 and serves on the Federal AMA Board and Council and was awarded both Fellowship and the 2020 Federal AMA Presidential Medal for services to refugees and to doctors. He was secretary of the NSW Medical Benevolent Association, has for many years been the volunteer Director of the Doctors Health Advisory Service in ACT caring for unwell doctors. He is an examiner and teacher for undergraduate and postgraduate medical students, and is the Deputy Director of the Professional Services Review in the Department of Health. He remains a passionate advocate for all Canberrans navigating the health system. He is the school doctor for Canberra Grammar and serves on their Board, and is a keen fan of music, sport, and the arts. He is very fortunate to be part of the wonderful Yarralumla team.
Dr Sara Frost was born in the UK but completed her high school education in the US. She subsequently moved to the UK to complete her medical training in the UK at Bristol University. She qualified as a Dr in 1998, becoming a GP in 2005, and a partner at a local practice soon afterwards. However better weather, and a desire for travel led to her arriving in Merimbula, NSW with her husband and 3 children, cat and dog. She has worked there for the past 9 years and hopes to continue providing the same friendly family based medicine that she enjoys practicing here in Canberra. Her special interests include women’s health, aged care and chronic disease management.
Catriona joined Yarralumla Surgery in 2012, returning to Canberra after time in Darwin and overseas. She has a special interest in skin cancer medicine and surgery, having completed a skin cancer college certificate. Whilst living in Darwin Catriona ran a busy skin cancer clinic. She also has enhanced skills in the treatment and management of sports related injuries,public health and tropical medicine, for which she holds a Masters qualification.
Catriona mentors junior doctors and also works as a GP sedationist in public and private practices across the ACT. She is married with three children and enjoys running and travel as well as standing on the sporting sidelines supporting her children.
Aqsa completed her medical degree at Monash University and obtained postgraduate skills & qualifications in Sydney. She joined Yarralumla Surgery in 2021 and has brought a wealth of experience with her. She has a Masters of Women's Health Medicine (UNSW) and Professional Certifications in Dermoscopy (ACD) and Skin Cancer Surgery (Healthcert). Aqsa is passionate about providing evidence-based, whole-person care for patients, simply because great health is so much more than medicine. She has a particular interest in women’s health, paediatrics, skin cancer surgery, preventative and travel medicine, and chronic disease management. As well as pursuing interests in photography, technology and the outdoors, Aqsa treasures spending time and travelling with her family.
Dr Perera is experienced in all aspects of general practice and in chronic disease management and prevention. She is interested in empowering and helping patients manage their own health; and has an interest in autoimmune and musculoskeletal disorders and endocrine disorders. Sujani enjoys working with children and women and alongside her patients with Aged Care and Men’s healthcare needs; and enabling them to meet their health goals and lead healthier lives. She is a strong advocate for better integrated clinical care across the different healthcare systems in the territory for her patients. Outside of clinical practice, Sujani enjoys her busy and active family life and loves living in Canberra and travelling in Australia.
Male, MBBS, FRACGP
Dr. Lachlan Facey is an experienced general practitioner. He has completed his training at the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners. He moved from Melbourne in 2014 and graduated from The Australian National University in 2017. He has since worked in many hospitals around the region, including a year of GP training in Leeton NSW. He has an interest in paediatric medicine, preventive health, chronic disease management and palliative care. He is an AFL tragic, likes to cook, bake and enjoys exploring Canberra and its surrounds.
Female, MBBS, FRACGP MS(Surgery) MRCS(Ed)
Dr Gill completed her surgical training and gained experience in general, thoracic and endocrine surgery. She spent 2 years in England receiving training in urology and obtained MRCS (Edinburgh) in Surgery. Subsequently, she worked in Queensland, acquiring valuable experience in skin cancer treatment. Dr Gill is a member of the Australian Institute of Dermatology. She has completed her training in dermoscopy from the Australasian College of Dermatologists. She offers skin checks, skin cancer excisions, excisional treatment of lumps and bumps including cysts, superficial lipomas as well as acne management. She also manages all general practice presentations, with a keen interest in weight management and menopause related issues (she is also a member of the Australian Menopause Society). She enjoys birding and photography.
Ramila is a geriatrician who has an interest in maintaining functional state as people get older and have multiple co-morbidities, like dementia and osteoporosis. She was born in Sri Lanka and trained in both Sydney and Melbourne prior to moving to Canberra.
She currently also works with ACT health and has admitting rights to the National Capital Hospital and Canberra Private Hospitals.
DR CLAIRE REBENTROST – MBChB, BSC, FRACPClaire is a graduate of the University of Otago Medical School in NZ. Her love for paediatrics began whilst working at The Hawkes Bay Regional Hospital. In 2005 she moved to Sydney where she completed her Paediatric Specialist Training through the Sydney Children’s Hospital Network.
Claire has been a Fellow of the Royal Australian College of Physicians since 2010. In 2011 Claire and her husband moved to Singapore where she worked in a Private International Paediatric Clinic. Here she built up a strong practice of international patients, dealing with a wide range of Paediatric issues including gastro-oesophageal reflux disease, colic, sleep and settling issues, failure to thrive, weight and height concerns, asthma, constipation and eczema - just to mention a few.
At the start of 2017 Claire and the family, which now includes 2 boys, returned to Australia to settle in Canberra. She is experienced in the comprehensive assessment and management of a wide range of medical growth and development issues of infants, children and adolescents. She also has extensive knowledge of local and international vaccination schedules and travel vaccinations.
More information regarding Dr Rebentrost can be found on her website - www.canberrapaediatrics.com.au
Carolyn grew up in Sydney and then moved to Adelaide to study medicine. She completed her medical degree at the University of Adelaide in 2002. She undertook her physician training, specialising in endocrinology, across the major teaching hospitals in Adelaide and became a Fellow of the RACP in 2010. She undertook her PhD at Flinders University, which looked into the metabolic and cardiovascular effects of mild glucocorticoid excess, before moving to Canberra, where she has lived since 2013. She has a strong interest in medical education, having previously been the director of physician education and of prevocational education and training at Canberra Hospital. She is also on the National Examining Panel for the Royal Australasian College of Physicians. Carolyn works at Canberra Health Services as Director of Diabetes and Senior Staff Specialist Endocrinologist. In her spare time, Carolyn enjoys spending time with her family, walking her dog and skiing.
Sanjaya Senanayake is an Infectious Diseases Physician and Director of Infectious Diseases at Canberra Hospital. He is an Associate Professor of Medicine at the Australian National University and is also a Conjoint Lecturer at the School of Public Health and Community Medicine, University of New South Wales. He has a strong interest in infections of public health importance. Sanjaya works at Yarralumla Surgery for one session per week currently.
Dr Dinesh Arya has qualifications in Medicine and Psychiatry from India, the UK and Ireland. He is a Fellow of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, the Australian College of Health Services Management and the Royal Australasian College of Medical Administrators. Dr Arya has other health executive responsibilities in the ACT public health system, therefore, only practices as a clinical psychiatrist at Yarralumla Surgery one day per week. Dr Arya is happy to see adults struggling with mental health issues and psychiatric conditions and routinely provides expert opinions to support other health professionals to optimise mental health care and treatment.