Dr Max Neate
Dr Max Neate has been with the practice for 27 years. He moved to the Mount after a short time in the United Kingdom. Max went through Medical School in Auckland, the youngest graduate in Australasia, to date. His wife teaches at the local College and they have 4 children.
In his teens Max gained recognition nationally in swimming and has run 10 marathons to a high level. He has a keen interest in all aspects of family medicine and has a leaning towards the care of children and aspects of sports medicine.
Dr Tony Farrell
Tony was born in Hinds, near Ashburton and grew up on a Mid Canterbury sheep farm. He went to secondary school at St Bedes College and was head prefect and first five eight for the first fifteen.
He trained for his medical degree at Otago Medical School in Dunedin and in 1990 moved to Tauranga after meeting his wife, Donna. He became a partner of the Mount Medical Centre in 1994 and gained his Fellowship of the Royal New Zealand College of GPs. He has a post graduate certificate in addiction and now is a Fellow of the Chapter of Addiction medicine. Tony is interested in research in General Practice and has served on many committees including being a board member and clinical committee member of the Western Bay of Plenty PHO. Interested also in traditional health systems such as Chinese medicine, he actively partakes in yoga and Tai Chi.
He has really enjoyed learning to surf with his 3 children and is keeping fit by taking up road cycling.
Dr Rob Hilligan
Rob was born and raised in Rhodesia. He went to the Godfrey Higgins Medical School at the University of Rhodesia graduating in 1979. His biggest accomplishment at medical school was meeting his future wife Liz who also works at the Mount Medical Centre.
As was the tradition in the unsettled years pre independence Rhodesian graduates went to the UK to obtain a British qualification and Rob has a LRCCS LRCP University of Edinburgh and Glasgow. Two post grad years were spent at Harare Hospital where a wealth of experience was obtained. A brief nine months was spent in general practice in rural Zimbawe before a deciding to leave this troubled country. Rob worked for 3 years as a mine medical officer on the largest goldmine in South Africa, Vaal Reefs. A love of orthopaedics and all things surgical was fostered. The next position was in Swaziland as a medical officer on a large CVJC run operation looking after 2000 labourers and 100 expat families.
While here Rob studied at University of Witwatersrand for a diploma in Tropical Medicine and Diploma in Public Health. The expat lifestyle was great but with the arrival of Julia and Lisa, Rob’s two daughters, the Hilligan’s planned to move to safer more secure pastures. New Zealand was the country and Ngatea was the place. Rob and Liz worked as rural GP’s for 17 years in this small farming town where his third daughter was born. With the two eldest children finishing their schooling a decision to move was made with lifestyle now high on the agenda and beautiful Mount Maunganui was chosen with absolutely no regrets. Rob has maintained his interest in surgery and is available for minor surgery and vasectomies. He is also has an interest in Travel Medicine.
Dr Liz Davies
Liz was born in Plymouth in England and educated in Rhodesia graduating from University of Rhodesia School of Medicine in 1979. As these were times of political turmoil it was traditional to rewrite the final exams at University of Edinburgh and Glasgow attaining an LRCP LRCS.
Internship was in general medicine, paediatrics, orthopaedics and general surgery followed by obstetrics and gynaecology and anaesthetics all at the Salisbury [Harare] Group of Hospitals. The plan was then General Practice in a small town of Kwekwe in Zimbabwe but a plane trip and emergency landing with the current president changed all that and it was time to immigrate.
South Africa was a stepping stone where I worked for Anglo American as a medical officer in a hospital servicing a large gold mine. Other jobs there were as a part time anaesthetist at the Provincial Hospital and private anaesthetics and assisting a plastic surgeon.
Swaziland was next where I did locum work in primary health care for Commonwealth Development Corporation companies producing sugar, citrus, beef and forestry/paper pulp.
Reading the Medical Journals introduced us to Ngatea on the Hauraki Plains of New Zealand and 17 happy and fulfilling years were spent in rural general practice there. I gave anaesthetics for 5yrs and delivered babies for 10yrs at Thames hospital.
In 2004 I joined the happy team at Mount Medical Centre in this amazing coastal paradise and have never looked back!
I have a Diploma of Anaesthetics from University of South Africa, Diploma of Obstetrics from University of Auckland and a fellowship of the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners.
If this sounds similar to Rob Hilligan's story it is because we met at medical school and have been married since 1980 and have 3 lovely daughters!
Dr Steve Balme
I was brought up on a sheep farm and after lambing a few old ewes, decided to do medicine which was a bloody side harder than lambing the old ewes.
I then delivered up to about 2000 babies. After having been in general practice 40 years, one grows old and with ones practice. Initially I started off as an obstetrician, then a paediatrician, then general medicine, then problems with going through the change of life, and then a geriatrician, both from a patient and a doctors point of view.
Working on the farm with my favourite dog Sandy helped me to become an about average sportsman. Sports included rugby, cricket, athletics, boxing and billiards. As a result of this I became very interested in sports medicine and spent 27 years with the Auckland Rugby Union on the medical team.
As a student I was run in a couple of times, can’t remember what for, but was amazed that I was asked to be a police surgeon for several years which I also enjoyed. From these few comments I think I have had a very interesting life in General Practice. I am currently working part-time as general practitioner and aviation doctor.
Hein joins our team after 14 years in Wanganui as a General Practitioner. He is accepting new patients and will be working Monday, Wednesday and Thursday permanently, plus relieving other days when other doctors are on leave.
Hein offers a broad experience in the full range of general practice and family care.
Head Nurse - Wendy Souter
Nurses - Chris Drinnan, Tracy Mulhern, Kelly Mead, Vivienne Mack
Head Receptionist - Rae Keightley
Receptionists - Debbie Bedford, Robyn Dale, Julie Thomson