Born in Switzerland and growing up in Germany I worked and lived in the USA, Canada, Philippines, Bangladesh, New Zealand and finally Australia. My initial career was studying Geophysics, and I trained as a Paediatric nurse in Berlin, Germany. While working as a Paediatric nurse I realised how much I love medicine and helping children and their families, and I decided to study medicine. I specialised as a Paediatrician at the Ernst Moritz Arndt University Children’s Hospital in Greifswald, Germany with part of my advanced training in New Orleans, USA and Hamilton, Canada.

I worked in child nutrition, immunology, and neonatology research in Germany and as a volunteer Paediatrician in the impoverished areas of Manila, Philippines and Chittagong, Bangladesh.

Later I registered as a Paediatric specialist consultant in New Zealand and became a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians. From 2008-2015 I worked as a Paediatrician and senior lecturer in General Paediatrics and Paediatric Haematology/Oncology in Timaru and Wellington in New Zealand before moving to rural Australia in Mount Gambier and Traralgon. Since October 2018, I have worked as a Specialist Paediatrician at Cairns Doctors on Barr St, founding and developing Cairns Paediatrics on Barr St.

My professional interests and main focus are in Neurodevelopmental and Behavioural Paediatrics incl. ADHD, Autism, ODD; Mental Health e.g. Anxiety and Depression; Chronic Pain, Allergy, Asthma. I have a special interest in Travel Health and Wilderness Medicine, but currently do not practice in this field.

Professional Memberships

• Australian Medical Association
• Academy of Child and Adolescent Health Australia
• Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy
• Australian Pain Society, Special Interest Group Pain in Childhood
• Paediatric Society of Germany (DGKJ)
• International Society on Travel Medicine
• Worldwise Travel Health Medicine

Disclaimer: All tenant doctors and other practitioners operating at Cairns Paediatrics on Barr St are independent contractors. Each practitioner is solely responsible for their own fees, policies, conduct, professional services and each operate under their own ABN. Cairns Paediatrics on Barr St provides support and administrative services to its tenants but does not oversee or assume responsibility for their professional activities.

To make an appointment with our Paediatrician’s at our private specialist clinic, we make them affordable to as many families as possible, our clinic fees are much lower than the AMA (Australian Medical Association) recommendations for specialist consultation fees. The fees our clinic charge are necessary to cover the expenses for running a specialist practice.

*Medicare provides the higher rebate only for the first two reviews following the initial consult. For the 3rd and all following reviews, we therefore reduce the fees as you will receive only the decreased rebate.

The fees are payable on the day of your consultation. At Cairns Paediatrics we accept EFTPOS, credit cards (Mastercard, Visa, Amex), and cash. The Medicare rebate can be processed at the same time if you bring an EFTPOS card with you, or if your bank details are registered with Medicare can be sent online for processing.

Remember that your GP referral is valid for one year after the first appointment with our Paediatricians. Please ensure to obtain a new referral after the year or Medicare will not rebate you.

If your child requires an ECG or a spirometry it can be done free of charge before or after the consultation.

If you require a repeat prescription, please request it during the appointment. Outside a regular appointment a fee of $25 will apply. You may also ask your GP for a repeat script. If a medication change, a medication dose adjustment, or a Centrelink or NDIS form is required you will need to make an appointment.

Cancellation and non-attendance

Your appointment time has been reserved to see your child and family. If you cannot attend the appointment, please notify us per phone call at least 48 hours in advance so we can re-schedule and offer the timeslot to another patient. If you cancel an appointment less than 48 hours in advance or you do not attend an appointment, a cancellation/non-attendance fee of $200 for a missed initial and $100 for a missed review appointment will apply. This includes bulk billed families. The fee must be paid before a next appointment is offered. The cancellation/non-attendance fee is not rebated by Medicare.

Arrival and Running late

Please ensure you start early enough and arrive 15 minutes prior to your first appointment time to allow for your child to be fully set up and registered. For all subsequent visits it will be enough if you arrive for the check-in just 5 minutes prior the appointment. The appointment length is calculated to have adequate time to talk about your concerns, examining your child and discuss and prepare a management plan. If you arrive more than 10 minutes late and there is a next patient scheduled there is not enough time to cover all these needs safely and we have to cancel the appointment and the cancellation fee applies.