Our Doctors

Dr Nick Carr graduated from the University of Western Australia in 1984. In 1988 he completed a Diploma of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and a Diploma in Anaesthetics in the United Kingdon. He attained his Fellowship of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners in 1995, followed by a Fellowship of the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine in 1999.

For the past 32 years he has worked in a rural GP practice in South-West WA. He has a special interest in skin cancer checks and surgery, cardiology, and gynaecology.

Outside of work he enjoys the AFL, cricket, rugby, horse racing and Freemasonry

Languages spoken: English

Availability to work: Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday

Dr Ian Devlin commenced his career as a rural GP in Central Victoria. Ian is now practicing skin cancer medicine. He has had a long interest in the diagnosis and management of skin cancers, having completed the following training:

• Certificate in Primary Care Skin Cancer Medicine U.Q.
• Certificate of Skin Cancer Surgery U.Q.
• Certificate in Advanced Dermoscopy and Dermal Imaging U.Q.
• Certificate of Skin Cancer Medicine – Skin Cancer College Australasia
• Diploma of Dermoscopy SCCA
• Advanced Clinical Certificate in Skin Cancer Medicine and Surgery SCCA

Ian is passionate about the early diagnosis of skin cancer. One in three people in Australia will develop a skin cancer in their lifetime and around one in sixteen will develop melanoma. The vast majority of these skin cancers can be cured by early detection.

Skin Check Appointments

An appointment with Dr Ian Devlin can be made for a full skin check. A full skin check appointment will require half an hour. If you need only a check of a single spot, you’ll only need a standard appointment of fifteen minutes.

You can also read Dr Ian Devlin’s blog post to learn more about skin cancer and prevention in the post on Melanoma in Australia.

Outside work Ian enjoys road cycling, bushwalking and cross-country skiing.

Dr Magdalena Matthews completed her medical training in Slovakia in 2005, before moving to the UK to undertake General Practice training. She achieved a Fellowship of the Royal College of General Practitioners (UK) in 2012. She moved to Australia in 2014 and was awarded a Fellowship of the Royal Australian College of General Practice. She has a broad range of special interests including skin conditions, skin cancers, contraception, women’s health, aesthetics, children’s health, mental health, and chronic health conditions.

Dr Mags enjoys sharing her passion in general practice with medical students. She is committed to teaching and sharing her experience with young medicos who are yet to decide the direction their medical careers may take.

Outside of work, Mags enjoys spending time with her young family, walking her new puppy and running.

Working days: Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

Languages spoken: Polish, Slovakian

Dr Ciaran Laughlin completed his medical training in England in 2004, before moving to Australia in 2010 to work in General Practice.  He has a strong belief in forming solid patient relationships through good communication and always allowing adequate time to deal with the many aspects of GP care.

His professional career has seen him travel to disadvantaged countries and regions with Doctors without Borders, providing much needed healthcare for those less fortunate.

Dr Laughlin’s interests include preventative health, men’s health, mental health, sexual health, and aged care. His inclusive clinical practice extends to the LGBTQI+ community.

Outside of work Dr Laughlin enjoys fitness, beach volleyball, travelling as well as taking time out to socialise when possible.

Languages spoken: English and Spanish.

After graduating from the University of Malaya, Dr Ben Ooi undertook his residency in Singapore and is a qualified Family Medicine practitioner. His residency programme covered a gamut of specialities including Paediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Orthopaedics, General Surgery, Internal Medicine and Dermatology.

Dr Ben Ooi has also gained his Master of Medicine in Internal Medicine and Master of Medicine in Family Medicine from National University of Singapore in 2016 and 2017. He has been practising as a General Practitioner in Singapore from 2014 to 2019.

Languages spoken: English, Mandarin, Malay, Hokkien and Cantonese.

Availability at Medical Hub: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday.

Dr Rijad Kucuk MBBS (UWA) FRACGP is interested in all aspects of general practice, and enjoys caring for people from all walks of life and from varied cultural backgrounds. Dr Kucuk has special interests including men’s health, paediatrics, travel medicine, sexual health, chronic disease management, occupational health including pre-employment medicals, TAC/WorkCover, and performing small surgical procedures.

Dr Ling Zheng MBBS FRACGP MD PHD (Monash) has been practising at South Melbourne Family Practice since 2011 and has a great interest in all aspects of general practice. Dr Zheng has spent considerable time involved in medical research of a variety of chronic lung diseases at Monash University, University of Hong Kong, Essen University (Germany) and TongJi Medical University (China) prior to becoming a GP. Dr Zheng consults in both English and Mandarin, and has a caring, thorough, and patient-centred approach. Her special interests include asthma management, women’s health, child and adolescent health, aged care, chronic disease management, and preventative medicine.

Dr Leena Jatkar MBBS has over 30 years experience as a GP in India, the United States and Australia, and has consulted at South Melbourne Family Practice since 2009. Dr Jatkar finds general practice challenging and enjoys all aspects. Her special interests include women’s health, children’s health, and preventative health to prevent chronic diseases such as hypertension and diabetes. In addition to English, Dr Jatkar is fluent in six Indian languages and assists new migrants during their settling down period.

After 50 years as a GP, Dr Leena Jatkar has decided to hang up her stethoscope at the end of April this year. She has had an exceptional career providing care to many patients, but now is the time for her to spend quality time with her beautiful family and especially her grandchildren. We wish her a restful and enjoyable retirement.

Gigi completed her Bachelor of Nutrition Science followed by a Master of Dietetics degree at Monash University. She then works at different clinics across Melbourne as a private practice dietitian. Gigi’s warm, caring and patient personality allows her to become a competent dietitian working in the community. According to patients’ medical needs, Gigi will listen and understand their eating habits and pattern, tailor-made individual and package dietetics counselling sessions for our customers with the aim to help them regain health as well as enjoying fruitful life. Gigi always creates plans together with her clients to make sure they are satisfied and confident in making lifestyle changes and are able to include their favourite food in a healthy, balanced eating plan, as she believes that creating a sustainable plan is more realistic than giving out perfect meal plans. She believes every single person deserves to enjoy their favourite food, regardless of their health conditions. Gigi ensures her clients leave their appointment with confidence, feeling positive and empowered to achieve their health goals. Gigi has the professional knowledge and experience to assess the nutritional needs and to recommend appropriate nutritional treatment for referred patients. Gigi will evaluate and monitor dietetic intervention to help ensure a positive effect on patients’ nutritional status, aid the recovery process, control symptoms and improve well-being.

Gigi speaks fluent English, Mandarin and Cantonese.

Gigi offers nutritional advice on a range of health conditions which included but not limited to:

• General healthy eating
• Vegetarian / plant based nutrition
• Weight management
• Diabetes
• Cardiovascular diseases
• Dyslipidemia
• Fatty liver
• Gastrointestinal diseases – Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD)
• Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) – Disordered eating
• Preoperative and postoperative care
• Cancer Care – Malnutrition
• Bone health

Sri Vanapalli is our Podiatrist at South Melbourne Family Practice. Sri has been servicing the South Melbourne community since 2017 and brings over 9 years of experience working in private practice. This complements his hospital experience through his work at Northern Health, Monash Health and Epworth.

Sri is a firm believer in early intervention and prevention of complications associated with chronic disease whilst encouraging a holistic approach when working with patients to formulate both short and long-term treatment goals. Sri’s background in premier level cricket provides him a valuable insight into biomechanics and sporting injuries of the lower limb. He has a particular interest in sports medicine and lower limb biomechanics.

Sri offers a wide range of podiatry services from foot and ankle sport injuries to general podiatry including ingrown toenails. He ensures that treatment plans are tailored to individual needs and activity levels to support you in achieving the best possible outcome for your needs.

Sri can assist with:

• Corns, Calluses, and Plantar Warts
• Orthotics
• Plantar Fasciitis
• Bunions
• Ankle Sprains
• Ingrown Toenails
• Shockwave Therapy

Sarah Leech is a physiotherapist who graduated from the University of Melbourne with a Masters’ Degree in Doctor of Physiotherapy. She also completed a Bachelor of Health Science specialising in Musculoskeletal Therapy from the Australian College of Natural Medicine. Sarah’s interests are in musculoskeletal health, assisting with joint and muscle pain, occupational health, helping with return to work after an injury, and she also has interests in women’s and men’s health. Book an appointment online with Sarah.