We're a small community practice, governed by an experienced board who are full of heart & community spirit. We're every-day people, helping our friends stay safe & healthy. Originally, the Oxford Community Health Centre was founded by a local GP and then in November 2005, the Oxford Health Charity Trust was formed to govern our ongoing community service & facilities. The Trust is an organisation made up of volunteer Board Directors who recognise & value the need to support & provide a 24-hour medical service. In the past 12 months, our rural Nurses were called to almost 1000 incidents covering the Oxford & surrounding areas driving through paddocks, gravel roads, fords, snow and black ice, both day and night. The dedication of the team is outstanding.
DOCTORS
Judith Millar – Clinical Director
Judith has led the clinical team as Clinical Director since 2014. She provided locum services throughout
New Zealand in 2006 & loved it so much she returned in 2007 to join the team in Oxford. She was
raised in Coleraine in Northern Ireland & gained her medical degree at the University of Glasgow, Scotland. Her post-graduate training includes Accident and Emergency, Ophthalmology and General Practice. Judith has been an integral part of the development of the model of care for the Oxford Community and continues to advocate for equitable service provision for this rural community. Judith loves seeing patients of all age groups & is keen to continue her interests in Ophthalmology and Palliative care.
Judith has a special interest in women's health, including the fitting of the Mirena intra-uterine device.
Dr Savannah Da Silva – we are pleased to welcome Savannah to the Practice in 2023.
Savannah (she/her) moved to Aotearoa from England in 2020 and has worked in primary care ever since. She was born in the North of England, completing her undergraduate training at the University of Sheffield before moving on to do post graduate training in Accident & Emergency, Obstetrics and General Practice. Being of mixed heritage, Savannah is passionate about improving health outcomes for people from minority backgrounds, with interests in urgent care, reproductive health and LGBTQ+ healthcare. Outside of work she has a young family and a menagerie of animals to keep her hands full.
Dr Amelia Cheah
Amelia is a first-year GP registrar originally from Malaysia who moved to New Zealand in 2013 to pursue her dream of becoming a doctor. She completed her medical degree at the University of Otago, where she developed a passion for geriatric medicine and minor skin surgery. Amelia is committed to providing high-quality, compassionate care to her patients and is constantly seeking new opportunities to learn and grow in her field.
In her free time, Amelia has taken up photography as a creative outlet and a way to explore the natural beauty of her adopted home.
Amelia is excited to be embarking on her career as a GP and looks forward to making a positive impact on the health and well-being of her community.
Richard Clinghan (MB ChB, FDRHMNZ FRNCGP)
Richard is originally from Northern Ireland, trained in Scotland & now loves living with his family in New
Zealand. Interests include general medicine especially heart failure & chronic airways disease & minor surgery (including skin lesion removal, toenail operations and steroid injections for osteoarthritis). He is a lecturer for the University of Otago & teaches surgical skills & has a special interest in medical education.
NURSE PRACTITIONERS & RURAL NURSE SPECIALISTS
Jason Williams - Nurse Practitioner
Jason completed his nursing training in 1999 at the University of Florida. Following his training, he worked in a variety of intensive care specialities for 10 years with a primary focus in cardiology. After moving to New Zealand in 2005, he continued to work in intensive care later joining the air retrieval service.
From there, Jason left ICU and helped create a new after hour’s role in the hospital which helped improve
after hour’s outcomes, improved discharge times and patient safety at night. After six years he
then started in a new role working in the Acute Medical Assessment Unit as an Associate Charge Nurse Manager. Three years later Jason completed his Masters in Clinical Nursing Degree in 2012 from Massey University & has now qualified as Nurse Practitioner.
Brigid Sinclair - Nurse Practitioner
Brigid has been employed at the Health Centre since 2016, initially as a Practice Nurse. Brigid has completed post graduate studies and is now a qualified Nurse Practitioner. Brigid's background is in surgical nursing at Timaru and pre-hospital emergency care. Prior to nursing Brigid was involved in agriculture through Lincoln University.
Gemma Bellamy - Nurse Practitioner
Gemma completed her Registered Nurse training at the University of Auckland and spent 10 years working in Urgent Care. Gemma moved to Canterbury and completed her Masters of Nursing in 2022 and became registered as a Nurse Practitioner at the end of 2022. She works with us in the General Practice team every Thursday and also continues to work in Urgent Care.
Carol Melek - Nurse Prescriber
Carol has a background in acute nursing and even completed some of her student hours at the practice some years ago. She enjoys the Oxford Community and is passionate about delivering great primary health care to patients within the community.
PRACTICE ADMINISTRATOR
Robyn Salton
Robyn’s wealth of knowledge and experience makes her the perfect Practice Administrator. The practice
benefits from her background in HR & Personnel prior to joining the health centre team.
Robyn oversights the reception team as well as providing day-to-day administrative support to the Practice.
PRACTICE MANAGER
Carol Glover
Carol has been newly appointed to the role of Practice Manager at the beginning of 2023
Clinical Assistant
Amelia Molloy-Bland
Amelia has joined the Practice in 2023 in a new role to assist the Clinical team with their ever-increasing administrative work .
PRACTICE NURSES
Lin Thomson - Nurse Manager
Lin leads the nursing team as Rural Practice Nurse with over 30 years’ experience in a wide range of
disciplines. She gained surgical & orthopaedic experience while travelling & working overseas. Lin is
highly trained in accident & emergency, vaccinations, cervical screening and diabetic management. Lin
has lived locally most of her life & is a respected figure within the community.
Sue Dalley
Sue is a hospital trained nurse with more than 20 years of nursing experience. Throughout her nursing career, she has specialised in cardiology and oncology, but most of her extensive experience has been as a Rural Practice Nurse at Oxford. She considers herself nearly a ‘local’ to Oxford having lived in the area of Springbank all her life.
Heidi Godfrey
Heidi joined the Practice Nursing team in 2022 after having spent some time as a student nurse at Oxford Community Health Centre
Jane Fraser - Health Care Assistant
Jane joined the team in 2012 as a Medical Receptionist ad has recently taken on the newly formed role
of Health Care Assistant. She completed her nursing training at Christchurch Hospital and qualified as a
Registered General Obstetric Nurse in 1984. Jane will be contacting patients regarding immunisations,
smears & blood tests as well as providing support to the nursing team. Jane is passionate about rural life and family.
Marjolein Hicks
Marjolein returns to our centre to support the Practice Nursing Team on a casual basis.
Grace Taggart
Grace has joined our Practice to support the nursing team on a casual basis. Grace loves working locally and has a strong family connection with the Practice given that her Mother Jane also works with us.
DISTRICT NURSES
Lu Wengler
Lu is a Registered Nurse who has specialised in urology, nephrology and radiology over the past 17 years.
She has also worked in spinal & head injury as well as obtaining vast experience from ED to ICU. Lu has a particular interest in providing excellent service in both wound & palliative care. As well as district nursing Lu also nurses at both the Oxford Hospital & Christchurch Public Hospital.
Erin Pierce
Erin is a registered nurse with a background in high acuity surgical and community nursing. Erin supports the District Nursing Team on a casual basis.
Mandy Purslow
Mandy is an Essex girl from the United Kingdom. She has a passion for wound care, specialising in leg ulcers and has experience with patients suffering from lymphoedema. In her down time Mandy enjoys knitting and caring for her animals on her lifestyle block. Mandy has joined the team to assist both the Practice Nursing team and the District Nursing Team.
Jo Brereton
Jo has a background in orthopedic nursing and has also worked in the Plastics and Spinal and Brain Injury wards. Jo has been nursing since 2004 and has always had a passion for working in the local community. Jo has joined the OCHC team to assist the District Nursing team and enjoys meeting a caring for our patients out in the community.
RECEPTION & ADMINISTRATION
Chelle - Team Leader for Reception
Rochelle joined our administration team in 2019. Her previous experience in swim instructing and farming is an advantage as many patients recognise her infectious smile from those activities. She is happy to be part of our team, working in Oxford and living the dream!
Susan Mason
Susan joined the team in 2019 as a part-time medical receptionist. She also works in the office at the Oxford Hospital. Susan moved from the UK in 2006 and has lived in Oxford since. She enjoys the small town country lifestyle, helping people and being a member
of the community.
Sidsel Rosager
Sidsel joined the Health Centre team in 2021 working in the COVID immunisation clinics and liked it so much she became part of the permanent reception team. Sidsel originally came from Sweden and enjoys living locally raising her kids, being involved in sports and biking, running and tramping in our areas beautiful native forests and mountains.
ALLIED HEALTH
Jan - Health Coach
Jan's role is simply to help improve your health and wellbeing. This could be to help prevent diseases or to reduce their impact on your life: preventable diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, stroke, alzheimers, high cholesterol, chronic fatigue etc. To do this Jan can walk alongside you to make a plan to improve your nutrition, ideas to exercise a little more, help with sleep routines, and stress and anxiety relievers. Jan has lived locally in Eyrewell on a chicken and beef finishing farm for the past 8 years, prior to that Jan lived at Clarence with my husband and 2 daughters, where they ran a beekeeping business.
Angela - Health Improvement Practitioner
Angela joins Oxford Community Health Centre as the new Health Improvement Practitioner. Angela moved to the South Island last year to enjoy the slower pace and less traffic; she is a registered nurse with experience in mental health, aged care, and community nursing. Angela comes from a farming background with a large family and enjoys gardening and travel. Angela's role enables me to see clients from 2 to 100 year olds with problems including relationships, family violence, health choices, anxiety, sleep, mood, addiction and pain.
GOVERNANCE
Sarah Henderson (Chair)
Gary Allen
Tracie Miller
Murray Taggart
Megan Quinn
Roger Robson-Williams
Ben Sutton