Excisions, skin biopsies and procedures are performed at the surgery at a later date and usually requires a 1 hour appointment.
Clara graduated from the University of Sydney with a Bachelor of Medical Science with Honours in 1998 and a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery in 2002. She worked at Gosford and Wyong Hospitals on the NSW Central Coast for several years, where she gained experience in Emergency Medicine, General Medicine, General Surgery, Paediatrics, Geriatrics, Intensive Care and Sexual Health, before working at the Children’s Hospital at Westmead where she completed a Diploma in Child Health. She also has a certificate in Sexual Health and Family Planning, and attained her fellowship with the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners in 2007. Clara is a Board Certified Lifestyle Medicine Physician through the Australasian Society of Lifestyle Medicine and the International Board of Lifestyle Medicine. She joined Norwest General Practice in 2008.
Although Clara has spent some time in research, having written academic papers on the subjects of gene mapping in mice with systemic lupus erythematosus and the pre-vaccination burden of chickenpox and shingles in Australia, she finds the most satisfaction in working in General Practice. She enjoys the variety that General Practice has to offer, and considers it a privilege to have the opportunity to engage in long term partnerships with her patients. She is passionate about empowering her patients to optimise their health in a holistic way. Her special interests include lifestyle medicine, weight loss management, preventative healthcare, mental health, children’s health, women’s health and sexual health.
Clara is also a GP supervisor for medical students studying at Western Sydney University, which allows her to share her love for General Practice with the next generation of doctors.
Outside of work, Clara and her husband enjoy being the parents of three daughters. They are committed Christians, and are long term members of Norwest Anglican Church in Baulkham Hills. Clara enjoys Euro-style board games, escape rooms, photography, geocaching, reading and going for walks and bike rides.
Ashok graduated from the University of Sydney with a Bachelor of Commerce in 2008 and a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery in 2012.
Prior to commencing his specialty training with the Royal Australian College of General Practioners (RACGP), he worked as a junior doctor at Blacktown and Mount Druitt Hospitals.
Ashok attained his Fellowship with the RACGP in 2017, after undertaking training in the Blue Mountains, Bella Vista, Winston Hills and Auburn.
He enjoys all aspects of general practice, however he has a particular interest in paediatrics and has completed the Diploma of Child Health.
When he is not working, Ashok enjoys photography and playing the guitar.
Having grown up in the Hills District, Ashok is passionate about delivering outstanding health care and giving back to his local community as a family doctor.
In 2017 he moved to Sydney and worked as GP in Hillsong CityCare Health Centre, until moving to Norwest General Practice in 2020.
Momentum Physiotherapy & Health Services operate multidisciplinary practices within the Sydney metro area. Our team consists of Physiotherapists, Exercise Physiologists and Remedial massage therapists. We have a treatment room within Norwest General Practice to enable us to provide onsite Physiotherapy services, additionally our Bella Vista practice is also easily accessible via Norwest General Practice.
At Momentum our aim is to assist you with “getting you moving”.
She specialises in the assessment and treatment of children, aged 2-12 years, who have difficulties in the following areas of communication.
Dr Terluk has extensive training and experience in acute and emergency cardiac conditions and performs angiography, transoesophageal echocardiography and dobutamine stress echocardiography, as well as cardioversions and pacemaker implantation. Dr Terluk is currently involved in scientific research, including the echocardiographic assessment of right heart function and cardiac failure in the context of cancer.
Dr Andrew Terluk has been consulting at Sydney Cardiology since 2017.
Dr Terluck consults at Norwest General Practice.
After completing his Orthopaedic training in 2011, he underwent further training in knee surgery as the Sydney Knee Specialists Knee Reconstruction Fellow. After this he travelled to Bristol UK to receive further training in knee surgery at the Avon Orthopaedic Centre as the Bristol Knee Group Fellow. In his subsequent travels he has learnt from world-renowned knee surgeons such as Professor Freddie Fu and Professor Rene Verdonk. Dr Balalla remains very actively engaged in learning, and is a member of ESSKA and ISAKOS, which are international societies, focused on knee surgery and arthroscopy.
During his specialist training Dr Balalla developed an interest in tissue-preserving knee surgery, unicompartmental knee replacement, and complex knee trauma. He specializes in computer-guided knee replacement, and tissue preserving ACL reconstruction.
Dr Balalla currently operates at Norwest Private Hospital and Castle Hill Day Surgery. He is a member of the Orthopaedic Department at Westmead Public Hospital, and is very happy to be able to offer the benefits of the latest techniques in knee surgery to all patients via his elective surgery list. He is also involved in teaching these techniques to future orthopaedic surgeons.
In his spare time Dr Balalla enjoys spending time with his wife and two children, and enjoys food, wine, travelling, snowboarding, and CrossFit.
Dr Balalla consults at Norwest General Practice fortnightly.
Consultation fees do apply and will be payable on the day, however rebates are available from Medicare or your private health fund.
A referral from your GP is required.
Phyllis is a General Paediatrician who has expertise in a variety of general paediatric conditions. She has special interests in newborn/infant conditions, growth/developmental problems, learning difficulties, behaviour problems, soiling and bedwetting.
Phyllis has been working in paediatrics in Australia since 2003. She undertook her paediatric training at Children’s Hospital Westmead and is a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (FRACP). She is also part of the Paediatric Academic Team of the Diploma in Child Health/International Postgraduate Paediatric Certificate (DCH/IPPC) at the Children’s Hospital Westmead.
Dr Bogopa consults at Norwest General Practice in Bella Vista each Monday.
Consultation fees apply and will need to be paid on the day, however rebates are available from Medicare or your Private Health fund.
A referral from your GP is also required.
To make an appointment with her please ring our reception team.
Dr Alsnih has a special interest in General and Laproscopic Surgery, Gastroscopy and Colonoscopy as well as Head and Neck, Thyroid and Salivary Glands Surgery.
Dr Alsnih is a lecturer in Surgery at the University of Western Sydney. He is also a consultant General and Laparoscopic surgeon in Blacktown and Mt Druitt Hospitals and Norwest Private Hospitals.
Dr Alsnih Consults at Norwest General Practice in Bella Vista once a fortnight.
Consultation fees apply and will need to be paid on the day, however rebates are available from Medicare or your Private Health fund.
A referral from your GP is also required.
To make an appointment with him please ring our reception team.
Dr Ho studied Medicine at Sydney University and after graduating worked at various Sydney Hospitals as an intern, Junior medical officer, and advanced General Surgery Registrar. He was then fortunate enough to be offered a Senior training position in Plastic Surgery. After completion of Specialist Plastic Surgery Training, he pursued further interests in Aesthetic Surgery in the United Kingdom and Microsurgery in Asia.
Dr Ho studied Medicine at Sydney University and after graduating worked at various Sydney Hospitals as an intern, Junior medical officer, and advanced General Surgery Registrar. He was then fortunate enough to be offered a Senior training position in Plastic Surgery. After completion of Specialist Plastic Surgery Training, he pursued further interests in Aesthetic Surgery in the United Kingdom and Microsurgery in Asia.
Now a Consultant Plastic Surgeon at major Eastern Suburbs Hospitals: Prince of Wales, Sydney Children’s and St Vincent’s Hospitals, he enjoys his clinical work as well as teaching and charitable trips to the third world.
Dr Ho’s practice encompasses all aspects of General Plastic surgery from skin cancer through to facial and breast reconstruction as well as the aesthetic speciality areas of face, breast and body rejuvenation.
His philosophy has always been to deliver the best natural results he possibly can in a caring environment. This comes about for him through a strong foundation in training and a continual pursuit of knowledge and excellence. For his patients, this is achieved through an individually tailored plan in a safe, caring and experienced environment.
Dr Ho consults at Norwest General Practice in Bella Vista one Wednesday a month.
Consultation fees apply and will need to be paid on the day, however rebates are available from Medicare or your Private Health fund.
A referral from your GP is also required.
Although Clara has spent some time in research, having written academic papers on the subjects of gene mapping in mice with systemic lupus erythematosus and the pre-vaccination burden of chickenpox and shingles in Australia, she finds the most satisfaction in working in General Practice. She enjoys the variety that General Practice has to offer, and considers it a privilege to have theopportunities to engage in long term partnerships with her patients. She is passionate about empowering her patients to optimise their health in a holistic way. Her special interests include children’s health, women’s health, mental health, sexual health, weight loss management, preventative healthcare and lifestyle medicine.
Clara is also a GP supervisor for medical students studying at Western Sydney University, which allows her to share her love for General Practice with the next generation of doctors.
Outside of work, Clara and her husband enjoy being the parents of three young daughters. They are committed Christians, and are long term members of Norwest Anglican Church in Baulkham Hills. Clara enjoys Euro-style board games, escape rooms, photography, geocaching, reading and going for walk and bike rides.
Yea has completed his specialist training in General Practice and has been awarded the Fellowship of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners. He has also completed further studies and trainings including Diploma in Child Health with the Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network and the National Certificate in Reproductive and Sexual Health with Family Planning Australia.
Outside of work, Yea enjoys spending time with family and friends, eating delicious food, staying active, and painting.
In 2001 as part of his college training he spent 6 months as part of a “special skills” team, working in paediatrics at Royal North Shore Hospital and Westmead Children’s Hospital. Aaron sees this time in particular as being invaluable to his role as a GP looking after children in our local community.
Aaron has been in private practice since 2003 where he also acts as a GP supervisor with Wentwest- the local area GP training provider. He has been working in Bella Vista since 2004 and hopes that Norwest General Practice will continue to service the local community with the type of medical care that adheres to the highest standards as set by his level of training.
Aaron considers it a real privilege to be held in a position of trust that his patients have given him, in caring for their families.
In Aaron’s spare time he serves at his local community church, enjoys time with his beautiful family, and argues with his wife about how much sport he is allowed to watch on television.
Dr Yoganathan has a strong interest in the field of human nutrition. He practices an approach to healthcare that assesses the lifestyle of the patient to see how it impacts on their gastrointestinal and metabolic health. Dr Yoganathan believes that the current day nutritional guidelines may not be based on perfect evidence and he passionately strives to provide the most up to date literature in healthcare and science to provide “Evidence-Based Medicine”. He Is a strong motivator and aims to empower his patients to embark on a journey of self-healing using the philosophy of “let food be thy medicine”.
Dr Yoganathan has a special interest in conditions such as Gastro-oesophageal Reflux (GORD), Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and abdominal bloating. He takes a very thorough approach to resolve these issues using dietary manipulation In conjunction with an accredited highly qualified dietician rather than resort to long-term medications.
Additionally, Deborah has an interest in neuropsychology and is currently a ConsultantPsychologist and the Clinical Director at TMS Clinics Australia, where she has the privilege to support patients completing Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Therapy for Treatment Resistant Depression and other psychiatric conditions.
Deborah offersa range of evidence-based treatments such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACT),Mindfulness-based approaches and Psychodynamics Therapy.
Deborah is passionate about improving the wellbeing of her patients and believes in a person-centred approach. She believes the most important aspect of therapy is exploring the patient holistically and creating an effective therapeutic alliance.
Bella Vista
Suite 5/1 Celebration Drive, Bella Vista NSW 2153
PH: 02 8824 4716 or 0426 186 772
Fax: 02 8824 4718
Sarah has gained invaluable experience working in General Medicine, General Surgery, Emergency Medicine, Palliative Care, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, and Geriatric Medicine.
Very early on in her career Sarah decided that she wanted to work in General practice and she feels very privileged to be in the position to care for peoples’ health. Sarah enjoys all aspects of general practice, but has particular interests in Women’s and Children’s Health. Sarah completed her Diploma of Children’s health in 2014 and plans on doing further studies in Women’s Health in the future.
Outside of work, Sarah enjoys spending time with her husband and son. She also loves baking and cake decorating for family and friends.
Sarah is currently on maternity leave.
Her love for General Practice stemmed from her year placement as a medical student in a rural Victoria town, Maffra. Here she learnt about holistic patient care, continuity of care within a small community and exposed to a large variety of medical conditions. During her specialist training, she worked in Hazelbrook in the Blue Mountains, St Clair and here at Norwest General Practice, where she gained invaluable experiences and teaching under Dr Aaron Tan and Dr Jeremy Tham and completed her fellowship with Royal Australian College of General Practitioners.
Within general practice, Dhakshini loves paediatrics, women’s health, sexual health, mental health, travel medicine, skin checks and minor surgical procedures. She has also completed her Diploma of Child Health with University of Sydney and Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network. She just completed her Implanon insertion training and is continuing to develop her surgical skills with Monash University HealthCert courses.
In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her husband, family and friends exploring Sydney, watching movies and eating out at the gastronomic delights of Sydney. She also loves jet-setting and exploring new countries, foods and cultures.
Shortly after, Susan and her husband moved to the United Kingdom where she worked in various roles throughout parts of London. This included work in a Christian medical charity where she was involved in looking after mission and aid workers around the world. She also worked in a highly regarded private practice in the world renowned centre of medical excellence, Harley Street.
Susan has also undertaken additional training in Children’s health, Women’s health, Sexual and Reproductive health, Occupational medicine and Travel medicine.
Since her first placement in a General Practice as a medical student, Susan has known she wanted to be a GP and feels that it is an immense privilege to be involved in people’s lives and to work with them towards better health outcomes. She is particularly passionate about patient education and has been involved in writing for several websites aimed at providing easily understood patient information.
While in London, Susan and her husband travelled frequently throughout Europe. Their favourite and most impacting trip being a 10 day tour through Israel and Palestine. They also travelled through Turkey, France, Spain, Germany, Austria, Italy and many other European countries and have been known to taste upwards of 100 different Gelato flavours in the course of a week in Italy.
While based in London, Susan gave birth to her 2 children and feels that the experience of becoming a mother and living abroad has served to make her a more empathic and well-rounded GP. Susan is a committed Christian and attends Christ Church St Ives. She also enjoys sunshine, hot weather, baking cakes and running.
After deciding to specialise in General Practice she spent some time working in Toongabbie and the Blue Mountains before coming to work at Norwest General Practice at the beginning of 2012. Joanne became a fellow of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners in 2013.
Joanne enjoys all areas of general practice but has a special interest in minor procedures such as implanon insertion, laceration repair and excision of skin lesions. She particularly likes the continuity of care with patients and their families which is made possible in the general practice setting.
Joanne currently serves as the National Recent Graduates staff worker for the CMDFA (Christian Medical and Dental Fellowship of Australia). In this role she cares for interns, residents, registrars and dental graduates across the country. She is also an active member of her local church. In the past her other jobs have included teaching piano and English, lifeguarding and working in a balloon shop.
Joanne’s current interests include playing board games, watching the cricket with her husband and playing team sports such as ultimate frisbee, touch football and gridiron. Joanne is also a fan of KFC, and was recently featured on a promotional bucket.
Young Hi is able to do Mirena and Implanon insertions, and is keen to provide cosmetic medicine in the near future. She has served overseas in Cambodia, China and Kenya on short mission trips and is currently working in Ulladulla and Bella Vista. Young Hi enjoys swimming, travelling with her son and translating for her local Korean Church.
Yau went on to complete his General Practice training, gaining his fellowship with the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners. He worked in various practices including Hornsby, Penrith and Grafton before settling in Norwest General Practice. Yau’s special postings included a 6 month stint as a registrar in the palliative care service of Greenwich Hospital, and working in the Family Planning NSW Clinic in Ashfield where he obtained his certificate in Sexual and Reproductive Health.
Yau thoroughly enjoys all aspects of General Practice, particularly the opportunity of getting to know his patients over a period of time and being able to provide continuity of care. He has an interest in managing mental health issues, and is also experienced in Men’s, Women’s and Children’s Health.
Yau currently lives in the Hills district and is an active member of Castle Hill Baptist Church. In his spare time, Yau enjoys spending time with his wife and young daughters, going for walks, watching sports and eating. He is also making slow but gradual progress learning how to speak Cantonese from his wife.
Michelle completed her post graduate fellowship with the Royal Australian college of General Practitioners in 2003. Afterwards, she worked in Asquith and Hornsby until she joined Norwest General Practice in 2008.
Her special interests include Family Medicine and in particular Women’s and Children’s health.
Michelle has three beautiful children and enjoys needlework and painting.
Lena has experience in Mental Health, Paediatrics and Emergency Medicine and has completed a certificate in Sexual Health and Family Planning.
Lena has special interest in Paediatrics, Skin Cancer, Occupational Health and Safety and Travel Medicine. She enjoy’s women’s health and is involved in GP shared antenatal care.
Lena worked as the Registrar Liaison Officer at Wentwest and has also been involved with the teaching and education of GP registrars. She was awarded the Fellowship with the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners in 2008 and has been working at Norwest General Practice ever since.
Outside of being a GP, Lena attends Christ Church St Ives, enjoys playing tennis and going to the beach.
Michael attained his fellowship with the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners in 2004. He worked in various practices at Woolgoolga, Carlingford, Strathfield and Baulkham Hills before settling at Norwest in 2007.
His professional interests including mental health, weight loss management, skin conditions and minor procedures.
Michael’s outside interests include listening to the Bible and Bible talks, meeting up with other Christians, spending time with his family, geocaching, collecting transformers and Star Wars figures, playing board games and making plastic and RC models.
Jeremy has special interests in Travel Medicine, Skin Cancers, Diabetes, Fertility Issues, Asthma, Women’s and Children’s Health. He developed several of these interests in his early years.
He worked in the community as a Paediatric registrar where he was involved with school aged medical assessments and development, childhood vaccination programs and running a nocturnal enuresis (bed-wetting) clinic. He also worked at the Children’s Hospital at Westmead in the General Medical departments and was involved in the management of newborns in the special care nursery. Jeremy’s experience in Women’s health was obtained at the Maternity Unit at Hornsby Hospital where he trained as an Obstetric Registrar, as part of the diploma of Obstetric and Gynaecology. His work there involved running an antenatal clinic, attending deliveries, managing early term miscarriages, working in the gynaecology clinic and performing surgical procedures in the operating theatre.
Jeremy went on to work as a registrar in Respiratory Medicine where he gained considerable experience in the management of asthma, chronic lung disease and lung cancer. Later, he worked as a clinical research fellow where he was investigating the use of inhaled insulin for diabetic patients. He also spent time on medical projects in indigenous Australian communities, Thailand and China.
With this broad clinical experience, Jeremy chose to specialise in General Practice and was awarded a fellowship with the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners in 2005. Since then Jeremy has worked as a GP in the Hills district and later opened Norwest General Practice in Bella Vista with his colleague Dr Aaron Tan.
Jeremy has also been involved with the training of young doctors. In the past he has been an interviewer for the Sydney University Graduate Medical Program, an interviewer for the GP regional training provider Wentwest, and a clinical examiner for the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners. He continues to educate GP registrars in his role of GP supervisor at Wentwest.
Jeremy enjoys travelling and experiencing the amazing sights and cultures around the world. He enjoys photography and bush walking with his wife and children. He also is actively involved in the Chinese Christian Church at Milsons Point where he serves as a director on the church board.
She has a number of years experience as a General Practitioner, having completed her Medical Degree from the University of Queensland in 2003. Erin also has a Bachelor of Science in Physiology and a background in Child Health, having trained for some years in Paediatrics before seeing the light and becoming a GP. She also has a Diploma in Child Health from Westmead Hospital.
Erin has worked in Aboriginal Health in Alice Springs and has crossed the ditch and worked for a bit in New Zealand. She has volunteered on a medical outreach boat mission to remote Papua New Guinea and also helps out with Camp Quality.
Erin feels its important to try to get to know people, aiming to not just help manage a medical condition, but understanding the whole person and what makes them tick. She loves hearing people’s travel stories, having backpacked to many far flung places around the world and her special interests are Children’s and Women’s Health, Travel Medicine, as well as the fascinating variety of General Practice!
Erin is busy exploring Sydney with her partner Greg and loves a good bush walk, a lovely sunset and a yarn over good food and wine!
Erin is currently on leave.
He has worked with a diverse group of patients from elite athletes to the weekend warriors. Sumit completed a Masters in Sports Physiotherapy and gained a Level 3 Accreditation, which is the highest Physiotherapy merit. He completed a research project at the AIS in Canberra analysing soccer injuries and his expertise is in Biomechanics and running, he also specialises in shoulders and knees.
Medicine was Sumit’s passion and attracted him. He trained at the Australian National University and whilst at University he won the GP award. Subsequently he worked as an intern at Royal North Shore Hospital where he gained essential experience in General Medicine, Surgery, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Geriatrics, Paediatrics and of course General Practice.
Sumit plans to undertake further specialisation in joint injections.
In his spare time Sumit loves playing with his young daughters and losing tennis matches to his wife. He is also a keen soccer player.
COVID vaccine boosters are available.
Please make an appointment with your Doctor
to a discuss a booster .