Doctors: All our doctors are fully vocationally trained general practitioners, having Fellowship of the Royal New Zealand College of GPs

Jim Vause

A graduate of University of Otago,   Jim has been practicing medicine since 1976 and is still trying to get it right. He has a number of advisory positions in health both in NZ and also internationally, including being website editor for the world organisation of GPs (WONCA). He is a former president of the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners. His whakapapa is Kai Tahu and Kati Mamoe.  Pastimes of yachting, motorsport  and jazz piano are sometimes fitted in. He has also been known to occasionally hit a  tennis ball when trying to play the game.   

Mark Pring .

Mark is an British graduate from Manchester who spent a number of years as a GP in County Durham in the English north-east.  He came to New Zealand in 1996 with his wife Carole and their two children, Robert and Rachel. 
Mark has specific interests in care of the elderly, has taken on the challeneg of learning to play the piano on top of his enthusiasm for the Mellotron.

Penny Wytenburg

Like Jim, Penny is an Otago graduate. She began work with Jim as a GP in 1987 and has been a key part of the practice since then . Penny has a diploma of community emergency medicine and co-ordinates the medical education for all the GPs in Marlborough. Penny fits her medicine among looking after a family of three boys  and her ever tolerant husband Tony. She is also coordinator of continuing medical education for general practitioners in Marlborough. In between her work and family, Penny is a busy girl with her inspiring interior decoration efforts. She is a Fellow of the Royal NZ College of GPs.

Catrina Traini

A fine wee Scottish lass, Catrina Traini came to Marlborough from Wellington along with her school age children and husband who works in the insurance business. Catrina has worked for several years in Wellington and Porirua both in general practice and family planning and is both a Member of the Royal College of General Practitioners (UK), having trained in Aberdeen and also a Fellow of the Royal NZ College of GPs.

Phil Dashfield

Another kiwi doctor, Phil dabbled with obstertrics and gynaecology before seeing the light and becoming a GP. he has been a solo GP, having worked at Havelock in the Marlborough Sounds for a number of years before doing another overseas stint in Canada. Obviously the cold got to him and he came back to our sunny climate to join Redwoodtown.

Nurses

Julie Nelson.

Another quiet sort on paper but Julie is pretty capable organising us all and can cope with anything so long as she has had a coffee in the morning.  She is a refugee from the West Coast of the South Island having been a dab hand at the motel business. In the surgery her principal role is as triage nurse and patient liaison in addition to a variety of other nursing work.

Carly Thorn

A mother of three and grandmother of five, Caryl moved to Marlborough from Oamaru, a place where she was born and bred. Caryl worked in Oamaru Hospital in a variety of nursing roles as a Community Nurse and following the closure of the hospital in 1994, went on to complete a Degree in Nursing. She began Practice Nursing shortly thereafter in Oamaru before she and her husband took to the sea in their 40 foot yacht. Fortunately they have progressed no further than Picton and thus Caryl is a significant contributer to the practice with asthma education, smoking cessation and womens health as areas of personal expertise.

Administration

Ruth Vause (Practice manager):

Ruth runs the practice in between serving as a community rep on the District Health Board, being a member of the executive of the Practice Managers Association of New Zealand and also a practice assessor for the RNZCGP Cornerstone Accreditation program. She has a particular interest in providing a patient centred focus to medical practice management. Ruth graduated with a Bachelor of Home Science graduate from Otago University and between work and directing various amateur theatre,  she has managed to bring up two sons Andy and Nick. A keen tennis player, she usually beats Jim except when she feel sorry for him!

Carla Heppelthwaite

Carla had been a long time Cantabrian until we snatched her to Blenheim where she has fallen in love with the sunnier and warmer weather. Rangiora's loss was certainly our gain and here many years of experience as a practice receptionist in Rangiora makes her a great assett to Redwoodtown Doctors. Carla is our senior receptionist and usually works in the mornings

Leigh Norton

Leigh previously worked at Wairau Hospital (Blenheim) as a telephonist, a medical records clerk and receptionist at medical Outpatients before joining our practice in 2004. The shift to a smaller work environment has proven enjoyable and it fits in well with her busy life with a husband and three children to look after. A keen netballer when she isn't down the Sounds in the weekends.

Felicity (Fliss) Roberts. (Receptionist)

Felicity has been a surgical secretary for ten years and a medical receptionist for the past three and 1/2.

"I love the contact with the patients from the wee ones to the elderly and also enjoy learning aspects on medical and health issues. It's a great surgery and team to belong to."

Her interests are foremost her family and shared sports: skiing, tramping, sailing and for herself, especially fishing.