ABOUT US
About Te Awamutu
Medical Centre.
Comprehensive healthcare for Te Awamutu and the Greater Waikato region
since 1970. Whānau-focused, Community-connected.
WHO WE ARE
Caring for Our Community's Health
Te Awamutu Medical Centre has been serving the Te Awamutu community and greater Waikato region since 1970.
We operate from two locations in Te Awamutu, offering comprehensive healthcare services to patients of all ages.
Our diverse range of clinicians includes General Practitioners, a Pharmacist Prescriber, Physician Associates, a Midwife and Nurse Prescriber, Nurse Practitioners, Registered nurses who are competent in various health conditions e.g. Diabetes and respiratory conditions; registered nurses and a Community Nurse - outreach. In addition, we have HIPs - Health Improvement Practitioners - more information in the NPI document.
In addition to GP services, our practice offers nurse-led clinics, visiting specialists, an urgent care walk-in clinic at Bank Street, and access to on-site diagnostics including physiotherapy, ultrasound, X-ray, and pharmacy services.
As an accredited Teaching Practice with the Royal New Zealand College for General Practitioners, we may have medical registrars on-site undergoing GP training. All registrars are fully supervised by our fully qualified teaching GP.
OUR TEAM
Meet Our Clinical Team
Dr Mary Ballantyne
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, in addition to her work with Te Awamutu Medical Centre's Women's Health Clinic, Mary is a LARC trainer (Long Acting Reversible Contraceptives), training doctors and nurses in IUCD and Jadelle insertions.
In her spare time Mary enjoys tramping and travel and spending time with family and friends.
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.
Dr Alison Glover
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.
Dr Jo Vipond
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.
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.
Dr Herbie Taute
Qualifying as a GP in South Africa in 2003, Dr Herbie Taute is a very experienced GP with interests in chronic conditions and skin/dermatology.
Herbie comes all the way from Ireland, where he has been working for the past 6 plus years. Always wanting to move to NZ with his family, he is very happy to have finally made it to our shores, and we are very happy to have him on our team.
Rachel Bell, Pharmacist Prescriber
Rachel, a Pharmacist Prescriber, 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 lives locally with her husband and their two young boys. Outside of work, Rachel and her family love exploring parks and the beach.
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.
Dr Krishna Chatterjee
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.
Dr Ayesha Haque
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.
Dr Hemisha Patel
Hemisha was born in Fiji and moved to New Zealand in 1996. She grew up in Te Kuiti, in the heart of the Waikato, before completing her medical training at the University of Auckland.
Hemisha is an accredited skin cancer doctor with the Australasian Skin Cancer College and has built a strong clinical focus on the prevention, early detection, and management of skin cancers.
Beyond her work, she loves to travel, explore new restaurants, and nurture her passion for skincare.
Dr Jane Cooper
Jane trained and qualified in the UK and has worked as a GP for nearly 20 years. Over the past decade, she practised in Western Australia in both metro and outback communities. Her areas of special interest include women's health and mental wellbeing.
Jane joins family in New Zealand and, outside of work enjoys exploring with her dog and baking at home.
Nuno Costa
My name is Nuno Costa. I'm originally from Portugal but I just arrived in NZ from the UK where I completed my master's degree in Physician Associate studies.
After I graduated, I worked in Acute Medicine for 1.5 years however for the last 3.5 years I've been working as a PA in a busy Emergency Department in England. Before working as a Physician Associate, I was an Emergency Manager in Portugal, a Paramedic in the USA, and an Emergency Medical Technician in Canada. I also did volunteer work as a firefighter in Portugal and in the USA and some medical volunteer work in Africa.
I have a special interest in Emergency Medicine.
Jenna Oppliger
Jenna is excited to be in New Zealand after moving here from Washington state, USA, where she worked as a physician associate (PA-C) in Family Medicine for over 5 years.
Prior to working as a PA-C, she worked in dialysis and residential care. She holds a Master's degree in Physician Associate Studies and a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology. She is nationally certified through the NCCPA in the United States.
Outside of work Jenna enjoys adventuring outdoors with her wife and dogs, snowboarding, surfing, and cooking.
Tricia Stuart
Tricia recently moved here with her family from Texas, USA. This is her first time in New Zealand and she is excited to be part of the Te Awamutu community. Tricia is an avid bike rider and is looking forward to exploring our beautiful countryside and our country.
She holds a bachelor's degree in English Literature and a Master's degree in Physician Assistant Studies and is nationally certified through the NCCPA in the United States. Tricia was previously a Physician Associate in both family medicine and OB/gyn for eleven years.
Manuel Pompa
Manuel and his family recently arrived from Arizona, USA, and are now settled in Te Awamutu. Manuel is already very much part of our team.
Manuel has a master's degree in physician associate studies and received accreditation by the NCCPA in 2020. His experience caring for his patients' acute and chronic needs of all ages in family practice has been rewarding. Patient education, treating a wide array of chronic conditions, addressing mental health concerns, discussing preventative measures particularly for high blood pressure, diabetes, cholesterol, and heart issues, these are his favourite aspects of patient care. The most satisfying part of his work is building lasting relationships with his patients.
When not in clinic, Manuel enjoys most of his time with his family, spare time is spent cycling, tramping/hiking, cooking, and photographing landscapes. He is also an avid Formula 1 fan. Manuel is very excited to explore every aspect of Aotearoa New Zealand.
Fiona Wing
Fiona has returned to Te Awamutu after eight years with Mangakino Health Services where she trained as a Nurse Practitioner. She has amassed significant knowledge and practical application as a dedicated nurse over 24 years.
Fiona's specialty is long term health conditions, helping people live their healthiest lives with a full understanding of their health. She is passionate about patients accessing all services they are eligible for. As a lead health care provider, patients have the opportunity to enrol with Fiona at Te Awamutu Medical Centre.
Michaela Buhrs
Michaela trained as a Registered Midwife and Nurse in the UK. Arriving in NZ in 2018, she worked at Te Whatu Ora Waikato initially as a Core Midwife then a Clinical Midwife Specialist with the Child Protection team. This experience evidenced barriers women encounter accessing local fertility choices, and unplanned children in poverty and neglect who can later experience mental health issues. Michaela wanted to do something about this complex issue.
Michaela is on path to being a Nurse Practitioner with intentions of setting up a drop-in, open access sexual health clinic with LARCs (long-acting reversible contraceptives) for rural areas.
Maia Heke
You may have already met me in clinic through the casualty walk-in service, administering your babies' immunisations, your dressings or your injections. This helps to make my transition into this role a lot easier.
As the community health nurse, I support whanau in improving equity of access to care and their health outcomes. I work alongside patients and their whanau to liaise with their GP to deliver care that is tailored to each person and their values. A big focus of mine is to help whanau break down barriers that are preventing them from receiving the care they need. I hope to facilitate for whanau to make positive relationships with clinicians and our practice here at TAMC.
I can either visit you at home, support you at your appointments whether here in clinic or off site, provide health education and help coordinate your care with our support networks in the community.
Booking an appointment?
Book online or call our reception team at 07 872 0300 to schedule your appointment.