Dr Chris Neil
President
Dr Christopher Neil has practiced medicine for 20 years, specialising in cardiology since 2008. Completing his PhD in Adelaide and undertaking post-doctoral research and a fellowship in the UK , he has been committed to clinical excellence in the care of patients with heart failure.
Returning to a specialist consultant post in his hometown of Melbourne, in 2013, he focused on developing improved systems of care for heart failure patients, whilst continuing to research in hospitals, mentor physicians in training and supervise PhD students.
His passion, however, has always been for his patients and when he saw their health impacted and their rights infringed, he stood against what he saw as unethical and unjustifiable mandates, resulting in his termination in October 2021. He was a co-founder of AMPS in 2021 and continues as the current President
Dr Duncan Syme
Vice President
Dr Duncan Syme graduated from Monash University in 1987, and has been in clinical practice for 34 years, initially in the UK and then later in Australia, he achieved his GP fellowship in 1997. He also has a Diploma in Obstetrics and Gynaecology and Diploma of practical dermatology.
For the past 10 years, he has been working in a large public hospital in their Hospital in the Home program as a consultant. In that role he developed a particular interest in complex wound management, receiving funding to commence a clinical project in which he was the principal investigator of a randomised control trial for a wound healing device.
Developing a clinical experiment from scratch provided a good understanding of the ethics approval process for a clinical trial. In addition, he sat on the low-risk ethics committee for the last 2 years reviewing other proposals for clinical studies as well as working for a pharmaceutical company in their pharmacovigilance section monitoring adverse events for clinical trials.
Dr Jeyanthi Kunadhasan
Treasurer
Dr Jeyanthi Kunadhasan was a Consultant Anaesthetist at a major regional Victorian public hospital, and was in practice for more than 12 years.
She has a clinical interest in Patient Blood Management where she spearheaded many initiatives that sustainably brought down the unnecessary transfusion rates in major surgeries, leading to improved patient outcomes and lower cost to the health system.
Kara Thomas
Secretary
Kara Thomas specialised in perioperative nursing early in her career, undertaking postgraduate specialty education and learning multiple specialties over nearly two decades. For Kara nursing is more than a job, it is a calling and a passion. To be able to serve the community during times of vulnerability and to see what is possible with evidence-based best practice is a great privilege. Team leading a busy tertiary obstetric and gynaecology theatre was a challenge that I cherished. “I loved my job.”
Kara has also undertaken a Masters of Community and International Development and has used her knowledge to research and contribute to policy discussion. Truth and transparency in policy development are critical to ensuring we build a healthcare system that creates public confidence and safety. Trust in practitioners and our institutions relies on professional integrity, open scientific discourse, and accountability.
Kara was motivated to get involved with AMPS because it has no political affiliations and is dedicated to fighting for the best possible health system for practitioners and the patients/clients they serve.
