About Myself

Despite a leaning towards Arts-based subjects at school with A-levels in French, German and Music, I was able to pursue a career in medicine by undertaking a Pre-Med course at Southampton. I qualified in 1987 and subsequently worked through various specialities (Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Psychiatry, Medicine for the Elderly and A&E) before establishing myself in General Practice in Buckinghamshire and had many years successfully combining General Practice with bringing up our 3 sons.

I loved working as an NHS GP. In those days you really got to know your patients and their families, provided continuity of care and felt part of the local community. I was involved in GP training and worked as a GP tutor at Oxford University.

I was always drawn to the slightly more complex patients, interested in the interaction between mind and body, and sought to provide holistic care. In 2009 I trained in cognitive behavioural hypnotherapy and started using these skills in private practice, along side my NHS work.

In 2014 I had a cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak which developed into chronic migraine, difficulties being upright and, with other ongoing symptoms such as pain and fatigue, led to a huge deterioration in my health. I was subsequently diagnosed with Hyper mobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome h(EDS), Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (PoTS) and Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS). Consequently I was too unwell to maintain my position and left NHS General Practice after 25 years. Although I was very sad to leave a job I loved, this gave me the opportunity to rehabilitate, to concentrate on understanding these complex medical conditions which, like the majority of Drs, I knew little about. I was able to set up a Medical Practice which focused on these conditions helping patients navigate the obstacles to diagnosis, provide much needed validation for many who had been frequently dismissed by Drs, in addition to raising awareness of these ‘not uncommon but not commonly diagnosed’ conditions and making a start with educating other health care professionals.

As time has passed, as well as gaining experience in seeing hundreds of these patients, I am a GP advisor for EDS UK, part of a specialist group looking at craniocervical instability (CCI) at the craniocervical junction (CCJ) and an active GP member of British Association for Study of Headache (BASH). I also belong to an innovative group looking at these conditions as part of a ‘super-somatic syndrome’

The patients I see have often had a long and protracted health journey, are living with very debilitating but largely invisible conditions and my aim is to diagnose, exclude other medical conditions, and provide individual management plans with reports to their NHS GP that help them to optimise their health. I also continue to do clinical hypnotherapy work along side.

APPOINTMENTS: TEL 020 7299 0385