Meet The Team

Our Paediatricians

Dr Natasha Fernandez

Natasha is a Specialist Paediatrician and director of the Berry Street Clinic. She is a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians and a member of the Neurodevelopemental and Behavioural Paediatrics Society of Australasia. She graduated from the University of Auckland and has enjoyed the diversity of working in both rural and metropolitan settings while completing her training in Paediatrics. She has also completed a fellowship year in paediatric pain.

Natasha’s area of interest and expertise is in complex developemental and behavioural issues in children and adolescents. Natasha believes in using evidence-based best practice. Being a parent to two young children herself, Natasha prioritises a family centred approach when caring for her patients.

Dr Fernandez is available for appointments on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, as well as alternate Wednesdays.

Dr Claire Smyth

Claire is a General Paediatrician with further advanced training in Paediatric Emergency Medicine. After completing her medical degree at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland in 2012, she returned home to Australia to complete postgraduate specialty training through the Sydney Children’s Hospital Network. She continues to work in both private and public sector roles.

Claire is interested in a broad range of general paediatric issues including: developmental, learning or behavioural concerns (e.g. ADHD and autism), neonatal wellness, growth problems, common childhood illnesses, food intolerance/allergy, tic disorders, constipation and enuresis. Through her Paediatric Emergency Medicine training, Claire also has broad experience with managing acute illnesses that may be complex and undifferentiated. She is passionate about empowering children and their families through shared knowledge and decision-making. She strives to collaborate with patients to achieve excellent health outcomes in line with the best current evidence available.

As a parent, she understands that the health and happiness of your child is immeasurable.

Please contact the clinic to find out when Dr Smyth is available for an appointment.

Dr Mayuri (Maz) Sivagnanam

Mayuri is a General Paediatrician who is passionate about providing high quality care and support to children of all ages and their families. Mayuri completed her medical training at the University of NSW and has been working as a Paediatric Doctor since 2015 through the Sydney Children’s Hospital Network. She is currently also working as a Paediatric Visiting Consultant at Bowral and District Hospital.

Mayuri has expertise in managing common childhood illnesses including asthma, constipation, epilepsy and neonatal conditions. She also has a special interest allergic diseases and has completed the Graduate Certificate in Allergic Disease at the University of Western Sydney and is in the process of setting up allergy testing for patients (including Skin Prick testing and Food challenges).

Mayuri also has an interest in managing complex developmental and behavioural conditions including ADHD, Anxiety and Autism Spectrum Disorder in children and adolescents.  Mayuri has a focus on patient-centred care and enjoys working collaboratively with families, GPs, allied health practitioners and educators at preschool and school in order to best support the patient’s needs.
Mayuri enjoys teaching and is committed to increasing the awareness of common paediatric skin conditions for parents and healthcare professionals and has provided support to the KinderDerm educational website.
Dr Sivagnanam is available for appointments on Thursdays and Tuesdays.

Dr Patrick Concannon

Dr Patrick Concannon has worked as a specialist in developmental paediatrics for the last 40 years. He graduated from the University of New South Wales and, after completing his residency in Sydney, he travelled to the UK where he gained membership of the Royal College of Physicians.
He subsequently worked in Asia where he discovered his interest in paediatrics. He completed his paediatric training in the UK and in Sydney and has worked as a consultant paediatrician since 1979.
For 25 years he worked as the service director of the RNSH & Ryde Community Child and Family Health Service. During that period, he also worked as a senior staff paediatrician at the Royal North Shore Hospital, Sydney.
His philosophy has always been to be an advocate for his patients and their families. He recognises the importance of working in partnership with the families on the appropriate interventions.

Dr Concannon is in the clinic on Thursdays.

Dr Geoff Crawford

Dr Geoff Crawford is an experienced consultant paediatrican predominantly working with both children and adolescents who suffer from learning and behavioural difficulties. Dr Crawford graduated from UNSW, is a Fellow of the Royal Australian College of Physicians and a member of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Dr Crawford has worked in private practice since 2002 working in the Sydney CBD and outreach clinic’s for the Hunter and Wollongong District’s.  Dr Crawford worked for 10 years at the multidisciplinary Serfontein Clinic, the first of its kind specialising in the assessment of children with ADHD. As a paediatrician he enjoys taking his patients through to young adult hood and managing complex behavioural issue’s with a particular focus on ADHD and developmental difficulties.

Dr Crawford is available on Tuesdays.

Dr Sarah Ford

Dr Sarah Ford (she/her) is a General Paediatrician and Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians. After graduating from The Australian National University, Sarah completed her paediatric training at The Children’s Hospital Westmead. Sarah has undertaken additional training in Adolescent Health, completing fellowship years at The Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne and at The Children’s Hospital Westmead.

Sarah believes in having a holistic, patient and family centred approach informed by evidence based practice when planning the care for her patients. She recognises the importance of the young person, their family and all health professionals working collaboratively to achieve the best possible care.

Sarah is a Staff Specialist in the Department of Adolescent Medicine at The Children’s Hospital Westmead. Sarah’s particular interests include gender diversity, eating disorders, mental health and managing adolescents with chronic and complex health needs.

Whilst not working Sarah is busy running around after her three young children.

Dr Ford is available for appointments on Thursdays.

Dr Claire Mowry

Dr Claire Mowry is a General Paediatrician who enjoys caring for paediatric patients and their families from newborn stage through to adolescence. She has particular interests in adolescent health, mental health, problems arising in the newborn period including in ex-premature babies and in acute and complex medical paediatric presentations such as eczema, constipation and gastrointestinal health.

Prior to entering medical training, Dr Mowry completed undergraduate degrees in international relations and biomedical science at the University of Queensland and undertook an internship at the United Nations Commission on Human Rights. She has brought a humanitarian lens through to her subsequent medical and paediatric practice as well as interests outside of work.

After completing postgraduate medical training at the University of Queensland Dr Mowry spent her first years of internship and residency working at Ipswich Hospital and the Mater Children’s Hospital in Brisbane prior to relocating to Sydney, where she completed her subsequent eight years of paediatric training with the Sydney Children’s Hospital Network. During her training she worked in a variety of paediatric settings in rural, outer metropolitan and tertiary hospitals and fostered her developing interest in adolescent health and mental health while working in the acute mental health unit at Sydney Children’s Hospital during the COVID pandemic.

Dr Mowry is a Conjoint Associate Lecturer with the University of New South Wales and is active in the medical education program for UNSW medical students. She is a member of Doctors for the Environment and aims to bring sustainable practices into her personal and professional life. Outside of work, Claire can be found chasing after her two children, trying to read the news in peace or experimenting with new recipes in the kitchen.

Dr Mowry is in the clinic on Tuesdays and Fridays.

Dr Eric Chung

Eric is a Consultant General Paediatrician and Fellow of the Royal Australian College of Physicians. After receiving his medical degree from University of New South Wales, he completed his Paediatric training with the Sydney Children’s Hospital Network (SCHN), working as the General Paediatric Fellow at Royal North Shore Hospital in the final years of his training. He also spent a year as the Chronic Pain Fellow at Sydney Children’s Hospital. Eric enjoys all areas of General Paediatrics with particular interest and experience in Newborn care and growth, general Gastroenterology, Adolescent Medicine, Behaviour / Development and Chronic Pain. He has been fortunate to look after children with complex needs and enjoys helping both the child and parent /carer navigate the challenges of each condition. Eric believes in evidence-based medicine as well as patient and family centered care to achieve the best possible outcome for each family. He also has extensive networks having worked in rural, regional and tertiary environments, allowing him to tap into the many services available in NSW. Outside of work, he enjoys a social and active life with his wife, daughter and 2 fur-babies; has many hobbies and prides himself in keeping up-to-date with the latest trends that each new generation brings. Eric is in the clinic on Mondays & Fridays.

Our Allied Health Team

Samantha Bertoldo

Samantha is a registered psychologist who has experience supporting children, adolescents, adults and their families. Samantha utilizes a warm, empathic therapeutic approach and values working from a collaborative, strengths-based perspective. She has a particular interest in anxiety and mood disorders, as well as strengthening the bonds between young people and their families.

Samantha has experience in both a clinical setting and part of a multidisciplinary team in a developmental paediatric clinic. She has experience working with people from diverse backgrounds in crisis settings, administering psychometric and achievement assessments, and utilizing evidence based interventions in individual therapy.

Samantha is a registered psychologist and completed her Bachelor of Science (Psychology) at Macquarie University and her Graduate Diploma of Psychology Advance at Monash university. She then obtained her Master of Professional Psychology at Wollongong university.

 

Samantha is taking appointment’s at the clinic on Monday and Thursday’s.

Mary Nguyen

Mary is a friendly and passionate psychologist who is committed to providing genuine care and assistance to children and families helping them to manage and better cope with challenging mental conditions. Mary aims to achieve positive outcomes through understanding the individual needs of children and families and through the implementation of effective evidenced based interventions.

Mary has gained extensive experience in working with culturally diverse children, adolescents and families with a range of mental health issues and diagnosis. Her expertise lies in delivering tailored individual therapy to children with various mental conditions specifically in the areas of, but not limited to, Anxiety, Depression, Anger Management and Behavioural Management. She has previously been a facilitator for numerous group programs tailored to social skills and assertiveness training for children. She has also been involved in assessing children and adolescents with complex needs through delivering various psychological assessments, interviews, direct observation of behaviour, and report writing

Mary is an approachable psychologist who delivers psychological assessments, as well as provides individualised evidenced based interventions tailored to your child’s needs and concerns whilst also working closely with parents and carers to assist them in the therapeutic process. She works with children, adolescents and families with various presentations.

Mary is a nationally registered psychologist with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA), and is an associate member of the Australian Psychology Society (APS).

David Long

Dave is a provisional psychologist with an interest in psychometric assessment. Adding to his degrees in engineering and his masters in business administration, last year Dave completed a degree at the University of New South Wales, obtaining his Bachelor of Psychological Science (Honours). Currently, Dave is undertaking an additional masters of Clinical Neuropsychology at Macquarie University, a discipline focused on assessing neurological functionality, involving clinical and hospital placements.

Dave also works alongside our administrative team. Having spent over 15 years in project and business management, his experience working across industries, from delivering large scale government and tier one projects to assisting with the establishment and growth of small business, has made him a welcome addition  here at The Berry Street Clinic. Dave is excited then not only to continue being a part of our wonderful support team, but also to join the allied health team to offer psychometric assessments.

Dave can generally be found spending time with his family, working at the practice, or continuing his studies.

 

Hang on, what is a provisional psychologist?

A provisional psychologist is an individual who has already obtained a bachelor’s degree in psychology and is continuing their education and career development through additional university enrolment, hospital and clinical practice. A provisional status indicates that the individual is qualified and registered to work as a psychologist while under the supervision of an AHPRA board approved supervisor. A supervisor discusses with and review’s the work of a provisional psychologist to ensure they are adhering to industry guidelines, regulatory standards, and maintaining methods of best practice.

Shanthi Anker

Shanthi is a Speech Pathologist who has a passion for utilising evidence-based practice when working with children with communication and literacy difficulties. She has a keen interest in the areas of speech, early language and literacy, and enjoys working with clients and their families to promote children’s engagement across all contexts. She believes that the best intervention practices should not only be effective, but also an engaging and enjoyable experience for children and their caregivers.

Shanthi holds a Bachelor of Speech, Hearing and Language Sciences and a Master of Speech and Language Pathology from Macquarie University. She has undertaken further professional training in Sounds-Write (Phonics), Hanen: More Than Words (Early language in Autism Spectrum Disorder), DIRFloortime 101, Talk for Writing (Written Expression), Applied Behavioural Analysis and Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy.

Shanthi is also able to conduct ADOS-2 assessments.

Outside of the clinic, Shanthi enjoys playing netball and going for walks with her 2 Pomeranians, Maya and Leo.

Shanthi is in the clinic Monday to Thursday.

Doreen Murray

Doreen Murray is an Educational Consultant with over 30 years experience working with children.
She completed a BA(English) degree followed by a Secondary Teaching Diploma from the University of Cape Town. She later completed a Post-graduate Diploma in Special Education(Learning Disabilities) at the University of South Africa.

  • Doreen moved to Sydney to work for the late Dr. Gordon Serfontein establishing reading clinics in his practices.
  • For the past 15 years she has been working with Dr. Geoff Crawford in Sydney and the Hunter region until his retirement in 2019.
  • She continues to travel to Maitland to see patients for learning assessments a few days a month.
  • She is passionate about language and understands the importance of Reading to a child’s success at school. Her motivation is to see children succeed.
  •  Doreen is now able to administer assessments for certain Special Provisions for the HSC using the NESA accredited WIAT 3 subtests.

    This would usually be for a reader, extra time and in some cases a scribe depending on the child’s spelling results. We are not able to provide the 2 writing examples required as these have to be done by the school on subject appropriate material and under timed conditions.

 

Doreen is available for appointments in the clinic on Monday’s.

Our Reception Team

At The Berry Street Clinic, our receptionists are the welcoming faces that greet families with warmth and efficiency. Whether scheduling appointments, answering enquiries, or offering reassuring smiles, they play a vital role in ensuring smooth operations and providing a sense of comfort to both children and parents alike. Our receptionists are the first point of contact, guiding families through their healthcare journey with care and understanding.

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