Servicing the Wide Bay Region (07) 4151 6255

Your Anaesthetist

Dr David Armstrong
Dr Victor Birioukov
Dr Alexander Clifford
Dr Robert Edwards
Dr Julia Groves
Dr Sylvia How
Dr Jon Joiner
Dr Piotr Konopka
Dr David Merefield
Dr Adam Michael
Dr Jo-Anne Mileham
Dr Dash Newington
Dr Sergej Petrosjan
Dr Anna-Louis Reyneke
Dr David Schapiro
Dr Morné Terblanche
Dr Christopher Thomas
Dr Joseph Tobias
Dr Fanie Viljoen


Dr David Armstrong

Details coming soon


Dr Victor Birioukov

Dr Victor Birioukov is a specialist anaesthetist with particular interest in general and obstetric anaesthesia. As well as clinical practice, Dr Birioukov is invested in health care administration and quality assurance of anaesthetic services delivery. As the current clinical director of the Department of Anaesthesia, Bundaberg Hospital, he is in an excellent position to oversee such matters.

Dr Birioukov is a member of FANZCA, the professional membership organisation for specialist anaesthetists and pain medicine physicians in Australia and New Zealand. He met the rigorous training and assessment requirements to become a fellow in 2016.

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Dr Alexander Clifford

Dr Alexander Clifford is a medical doctor with specialist training in anaesthesia and intensive care. He assesses patients before a procedure and plays an important role in caring for them before, during and after surgery.

Dr Clifford is detail oriented, precise in his monitoring of a patient’s wellbeing, and calm under pressure. His specialist expertise and experience combined with his genuine warm and caring nature and excellent communication skills brings certainty in situations where it is common to experience some apprehension or anxiety.

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Dr Robert Edwards

Dr Robert Edwards completed Medical School at the University of Queensland in 1999. Following graduation Dr Edwards spent a number of years working in regional and rural Queensland prior to undertaking specialist training in Anaesthesia in Brisbane. He was awarded a Fellowship of the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists (FANZCA) in 2009. Dr Edwards has undergone training in all sub-specialties of anaesthesia with significant exposure in both paediatric and obstetric anaesthesia as well as training in acute pain management, intensive care and resuscitation/crisis management.

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Dr Julia Groves

Dr Julia Groves is a Specialist Anaesthetist providing private anaesthetic services to the Friendly Society Private Hospital and Bundaberg Mater Hospital. In 1995, she graduated as a medical doctor from the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa. Early on, she developed a keen interest in anaesthesia and embarked on specialist training in all the sub-specialities of Anaesthesia. She was awarded the South African Fellowship in Anaesthesia (FCA) in 2001.

In 2008, Dr Groves and her young family moved to Australia and settled in the Bundaberg region. She then attained the Fellowship of the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists (FANZCA) in 2009.

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Dr Sylvia How

MB, MMed

Dr Sylvia How is a specialist doctor providing anaesthesia to patients for operations and procedures. She chooses the appropriate anaesthetics, monitors patients’ wellbeing during the procedures, supervises their recovery, and provides further medical support post-surgery as needed.

Dr How achieved her Bachelor of Medicine from the University of Newcastle in 2006. She was attracted to Critical Care Medicine very early on in her career, which led her to working across several tertiary intensive care units in NSW and Gold Coast, Queensland.

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Dr Jon Joiner

Dr. Jon Joiner graduated from Charing Cross Hospital Medical School, London UK in 1983. He worked in the U.K. at various hospitals undergoing anaesthetic training and obtaining a Diploma of Anaesthetics. He became a member of the Royal College of Anaesthetists (MRCA).

He has worked in Anaesthesia for the past 25 years in Bundaberg as a visiting Medical Officer at the Mater and Friendlies Hospitals and spent 10 years at the Bundaberg Base Hospital prior to entering private practice. Prior to coming to Bundaberg he worked on the Gold Coast, Mt. Isa and provided anaesthetic services to the Outback as the flying Anaesthetist based in Longreach.

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Dr Piotr Konopka

Dr Piotr Konopka, MD, FANZCA, is the Director of Anaesthetic Department, Bundaberg Hospital.

Dr Konopka graduated from the Medical University in Warsaw, Poland in 1994 and completed specialist training in Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care in Poland. During the training and as a specialist he spent several years in the UK, New Zealand and Australia. He was awarded the Fellowship of Australian College of Anaesthetist in 2007 and eventually settled in Bundaberg in 2010. He is a generalist anaesthetist with a keen interest in the Intensive Care practising in both public and private practice.

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Dr David Merefield

Dr David Merefield MB BS(Qld) DA(UK)

Dr David Merefield graduated as a doctor from the University of Queensland in 1977, and after internship in Brisbane, practiced in rural Queensland until 1984. He moved to England for anaesthetic training, gaining a Diploma of Anaesthetics from the Faculty of Anaesthetists of the Royal College of Surgeons in 1986. On return to Australia, he worked in rural Queensland as a Medical Superintendent, and Flying Anaesthetist, before settling in Bundaberg in 1987.

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Dr Adam Michael

Dr Adam Michael graduated from the University of Queensland Medical School in 2007. From here, he worked in various hospitals across Australia, and in 2011 completed his anaesthetic training through the Joint Consultative Committee of Anaesthesia (JCCA). He went on to work in the Kimberley region of WA, before returning to Queensland in order to undergo specialist training in Emergency Medicine, which he completed in 2018. He now holds a Fellowship of the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine (FACEM).

Dr Michael works at the Bundaberg Base Hospital, the Friendly Society Private Hospital in Bundaberg and also provides sedation in dental practices.

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Dr Jo-Anne Mileham

Dr Jo-Anne Mileham is a highly qualified specialist doctor with knowledge and skills in general anaesthesia, preoperative medicine, paediatrics and obstetrics. She is a staff specialist and supervisor of training (SOT), and her other interests include anaesthetic airway lead and environmental sustainability in healthcare.

She enjoys working in the theatre environment, caring for patients, ensuring their safety and providing expert, quality and friendly care. She considers it a privilege to have the skills and knowledge to help patients to journey through the sometimes intense or stressful experience of having a surgical procedure and assisting them to gain the best possible outcome.

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Dr Dash Newington

BAppSc, MBBS, MMed, MSc, MClinUS, AdvCertClinEd

Dr Dash Newington is a consultant anaesthetist with special interest and experience in paediatric anaesthesia, paediatric cardiac anaesthesia, and obstetric anaesthesia, and interest in patients with perioperative anxiety.

She sees patients calmy and safely through their perioperative journey and strives to ensure that people living in rural and regional areas have access to high-quality anaesthetic and surgical services.

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Dr Sergej Petrosjan

Dr Sergej Petrosjan graduated as a Medical Doctor at the Yerevan State Medical University, Armenia, in 1988. He then undertook specialist training in Anaesthesia & Intensive Care in Prague, Czech Republic and was awarded a Fellowship in Anaesthesia in Czech Republic in 1997.

In the United Kingdom Dr Petrosjan undertook specialist training in Anaesthesia in the UK. He was awarded a Fellowship of Royal College of Anaesthetists (FRCA) in 2003 & completed Specialist Training in Anaesthesia in 2007 and was awarded Certificate of Specialist Training in Anaesthesia (CCST).

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Dr Anna-Louis Reyneke

Dr Anna-Louise Reyneke is a Specialist Anaesthetist providing anaesthetic services at the Mater, FSPH and Bundaberg Hospital.

She graduated in South Africa as a Medical Doctor, 1984, (MBCHB), and as a Specialist Anaesthetist,1994 (MMed). She worked in different countries and settled in Bundaberg, Australia in 2010. She was awarded the Fellowship of Australian College of Anaesthetists in 2013.

She maintains her knowledge and skills by regularly attending Conferences and Workshops in Anaesthesia.

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Dr David Schapiro

Dr David Schapiro graduated as a Medical Doctor at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa, in 1998. He then undertook specialist training and was awarded a Fellowship in Anaesthesia (FCA) in 2005. He moved to Bundaberg in 2008 and obtained his Australian Specialist Anaesthetic Qualifications (FANZCA) in 2009.

Dr Schapiro's training has included all sub-specialities of anaesthesia (including neonatal, paediatric, cardiac and neuro-surgery), intensive care, acute pain management and emergency/crisis management including resuscitation.

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Dr Morné Terblanche

Dr Morné Terblanche is a senior specialist in anaesthetics with expertise across all areas of anaesthesia. He has an acute interest in interventional radiology and making medicine safer. He is detail-oriented and skilled across all procedures. He is calm under pressure and his warm and caring approach helps to ease any anxiety that patients may feel.

Dr Terblanche's interest in anaesthesiology stems from a long-held desire to make healthcare accessible to all people, regardless of where they are and their personal financial circumstances.

This interest led him to study a Bachelor of Arts in Theology and Psychology (BA), which he graduated from in 1992. He followed this with a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB), and in 2001 he completed a Diploma in Anaesthetics (DA). Three years later, he achieved a Fellowship of the College of Anaesthetists (FCA) in South Africa.

After moving to Australia, in 2008 Dr Terblanche completed his Fellowship of the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists (FANZCA) while working in Bundaberg. Soon after he completed a Masters in Health Management (MHM) from the University of New South Wales.

Dr Terblanche has worked in South Africa, the United Kingdom and Australia in a broad range of roles. These include Director of Anaesthetics in Bundaberg and on the Sunshine Coast, and Medical Lead for Safety and Quality on the Sunshine Coast. Previous roles and responsibilities while employed with Queensland Health include Chair of the Clinical Council, Chair of the Statewide Anaesthesia and Perioperative Care Clinical Network (SWAPnet), Member of the Clinical Senate, and is a Squadron Leader in the RAAF Reserve.

Dr Terblanche has published several papers in the field of anaesthetics and has received a Queensland Government Australia Day medal for his work in telehealth in the Bundaberg Intensive Care Unit. He is also a qualified commercial pilot and regularly undertakes Angel Flights.

Dr Terblanche feels privileged to have the opportunity through his work to make people's lives better.


Dr Christopher Thomas

Dr Christopher Thomas was awarded his undergraduate medical degree from Edinburgh University in 1993. After internship in Scotland, Dr Thomas was commissioned to the rank of Captain in the Royal Army Medical Corps and was deployed on active service in Croatia and Northern Ireland. On rejoining civilian life, he undertook his post graduate specialist anaesthetic training in the United Kingdom and Australia. Dr Thomas has achieved Fellowship of the Royal College of Anaesthestists in the UK and, the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthestists. Dr Thomas migrated to Australia with his young family in 2007 and was appointed as Director of Anaesthesia and Intensive care at Bundaberg Base Hospital.

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Dr Joseph Tobias

Dr Joseph Tobias, MBBS DA MD FRCA FANZCA is the Staff Specialist Anaesthetist as well as a Senior Lecturer at the Rural Clinical School of Medicine, University of Queensland.

Dr Tobias graduated from University of Madras and pursued his enthusiasm for Anaesthesia & Perioperative Medicine. He acquired Specialist recognition in India, UK and Australia through extensive training from tertiary care institutions.

Dr Tobias is a Staff Specialist with a special interest in Maxillofacial, ENT & Paediatric anaesthesia. He was a Specialist Anaesthetist in UK for 5 years, prior to his practice in Australia since 2009.

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Dr Fanie Viljoen

Dr Fanie Viljoen is an anaesthetist who enjoys providing anaesthesia for a variety of surgical specialties.

He has a special interest in Perioperative Medicine and Obstetric Anaesthesia and works part-time as an anaesthetist at the Mater Mothers’ Hospital in Brisbane. He is a course instructor for Managing Medical and Obstetric Emergencies and Trauma – a course aimed at training anaesthetists and obstetricians in obstetric emergencies.

Dr Viljoen acknowledges that preparing for surgery can be stressful for patients. This awareness fuelled his interest in Perioperative Medicine, leading him to complete a masters degree in this field. He strongly believes that patients should be medically optimised for surgery to have the best outcomes.

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Member of Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists Member of Australian Society of Anaesthetics

Wide Bay Anaesthesia Specialists     Main Practice

P (07) 4151 6255 F (07) 4151 4961
Suite #107, Level 1,
The Friendlies Medical Suites,
70 – 72 Crofton street
Bundaberg QLD 4670