About us
Providing medical care for families since 1970
Te Awamutu Medical Centre has been providing medical care for
Te Awamutu families since 1970.
At the practice, we have 14 GPs and 12 practice nurses. We also have visiting specialists and other healthcare professionals regularly on-site, so we can deliver comprehensive medical services to you.
As an accredited Teaching Practice with the Royal New Zealand College for General Practitioners, we will often have medical registrars on-site undergoing GP training. All registrars are fully supervised by one of our fully qualified teaching GPs.
We are Cornerstone Accredited (since 2006), the highest level of accreditation awarded by the Royal NZ College of General Practitioners.
Your general practitioners
Partner GPs
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Dr Mary Ballantyne
MBBS (Lond) DipObs (Auck) FRNZCGP
Mary was born in the United Kingdom, and did her training there as well. She has been a GP in Te Awamutu since 1981.
Mary has a special interest in women’s health. She is a member of the Australasian Menopause Society and runs a GP Gynaecology Clinic at Waikato Hospital.
In her spare time Mary enjoys tramping and travel and spending time with family and friends.
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Dr Henk Kroesbergen
Medical Practitioner (2004, Nijmegen, Netherlands)
Henk graduated from Nijmegen in 2004 and worked in a number of hospitals, and as a GP, in the Netherlands until 2011. He joined Te Awamutu Medical Centre that year as a locum after moving to New Zealand with his wife and children, and is now a permanent GP here. He has a keen interest in fishing.
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Dr Ernst Buhrs
Ernst has been a GP in Liverpool, UK for over 20 years. He moved to NZ with his family in 2018 and is enjoying life in the Waipa. He is a trained acupuncturist and is interested in Eastern philosophies and Tai Chi.
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Dr Alison Glover
BSc, MBCHB, DRCOG, MSc, FRNZCGP
Alison is a Scottish/English graduate, completing her medical degree in 1988 and moving to New Zealand in 1995.
Alison is married with two teenage daughters. Before starting her family she travelled widely, and opened the Waikato Sport and Exercise Medicine Clinic in Hamilton.
After spending a number of years at home with her children, in 2010 she renewed her GP qualifications prior to purchasing her practice. Alison’s strong interest in sport continues and now involves the whole family.
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Dr Paul Kennedy
MBBS (Lond), DRCOG (UK), FRNZCGP, MRCS Eng LRCP (Lond), MRCGP
Paul qualified in London and has been working as a GP in Te Awamutu since 1991.
Paul has an interest in sports medicine and GP training. He has completed his diploma in sports medicine and works with Te Awamutu Sports Rugby Club and Waikato ITM teams. He also has GP registrars – doctors doing some General Practitioner training – attached to his practice on a six-monthly basis.
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Dr Jo Vipond
MBBS (Lond), FRNZCGP, PG Dip OMG (Otago)
Jo did her training in London and moved to New Zealand in 2005. After she arrived, she worked in hospitals throughout New Zealand. In 2009 she completed her GP training in Christchurch. Jo enjoys all areas of General Practice, but has a particular interest in women’s health.
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Dr Katie Reid
Katie was born in Plymouth, UK, and grew up just outside London. After training as a GP, she worked around East London & Essex and then moved to New Zealand in 2013. Katie worked in various specialties at Waikato Hospital before moving into general practice. She and her husband live in the Waipa with their dog and an ever increasing number of chickens. Outside of work, Katie loves being on the beach and tending her vege garden.
Staff GPs
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Dr Amanda Henderson
Amanda is UK trained and became a member of the Royal College of GPs (UK) in 2002. She has been a staff doctor at TAMC since 2014, and loves living in the Waipa.
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Dr Ruba Harfeil
MBCHB (Jordan), PGDip Paediatrics Auckland University
Ruba is originally from Jerusalem/Palestine, and studied at medical school in Jordan. She worked in general practice in a Palestinian refugee camp medical centre in Jordan for nearly three years before moving with her husband to New Zealand in early 2013, deciding to make NZ their new home. Ruba worked at Waikato hospital for three years in different departments, then moved into general practice in 2021. Ruba has completed a post graduate diploma in paediatric medicine, and is currently doing a post graduate diploma in clinical education. Ruba has two girls and a boy; all are full of energy and fun! Outside of work, she likes horse riding and writing poems.
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Dr Krishna Chatterjee
MB ChB Manchester, BSc Medicine St Andrews, MRCGP Manchester, FRNZCGP, MUCCNZ, MIHS
Krishna is a Fellow of the RNZCGP, and is a Member of the Urgent Care College of NZ working toward his fellowship in urgent care. He has a special interest in headaches and is a Member of the International Headache Society. Krishna works at TAMC part time, mostly on Mondays and Tuesdays.
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Dr Ayesha Haque
General Practitioner
Ayesha has Indian roots and grew up in the middle east. She finished her medical training in London and after exploring several countries across the world fell in love with NZ and settled down.
Ayesha worked across various specialties at Waikato hospital before finding her passion in General Practice. Her special interests include preventative medicine, women's and children's health.
As a busy working mum, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends. She loves travel, food, music and exploring her artistic skills. -
Rachel Bell, Clinical Pharmacist
Clinical Pharmacist
Rachel was born and raised in the Waikato, and completed her Bachelor of Pharmacy at the University of Auckland. She has worked in a variety of community based pharmacy roles, has completed a postgraduate Diploma in Clinical Pharmacy and is a member of the Clinical Advisory Pharmacists Association. Rachel is planning to study to become a pharmacist prescriber in the near future. She lives locally with her husband and their two young boys.
Outside of work, Rachel and her family love exploring parks and the beach.