Dr van Gemert's arrival brings much needed health speciality to Bathurst

They can now access this vital speciality at Gilmour Street Specialists thanks to the arrival of Dr Tegan van Gemert.

Although her studies and career in medicine have taken her all over Australia, including to Perth, she is no stranger to the Bathurst region.

"I went to school in Bathurst, but then moved away to study medicine and complete all of my training," Dr van Gemert said.

"We still have family out this way."

It was family that brought her back to the Central West.

In 2023, Dr van Gemert and her partner decided they wanted to be closer to family and they began looking for opportunities to move back to the area.

Around the same time, Dr Bridget Elbourne was opening up her own practice, Gilmour Street Specialists, in Kelso.

The news made its way along the grapevine to Dr van Gemert, and she reached out to Dr Elbourne to see if there would be an opportunity to join her, and the answer was yes.

"It was just really good timing with Bridget that she had opened this practice, so I was able to get a room here," she said.

The practice opened in October 2023 and Dr van Gemert joined the team in March, 2024.

This is the first time she has worked in private practice, but just one month in, she is enjoying the change.

"It's good and, honestly, Bridget is wonderful," she said.

"It's been really good and we've just got a really good team."

The importance of endocrinology can't be understated.

Dr van Gemert said she was drawn to the basic science and physiology behind the endocrine system, which she said has a lot to do with "feedback loops" and numbers.

A broad range of people could find themselves needing to see an endocrinologist, making the services she can provide to Bathurst extremely important.

"The most common things that we see are diabetes and thyroid disease, but otherwise any sort of gland that produces a hormone inside the body, so pituitary, adrenal, sex organs, any other pancreatic disease," she said.

Endocrinology services have been lacking in Bathurst in recent years, and many people have had to either sit on a long wait list or travel to Sydney or elsewhere to access a specialist.

Dr van Gemert said that gap in service was one of the things that influenced her decision to return to Bathurst.

As a result, people will be able to get the care they need much sooner and in a face-to-face setting, which is particularly important for pregnant women.

"I see a lot of endocrine disorders in pregnancy. When you're pregnant, you can't wait months for the appointment; you're pregnant now, so you need to have the care now," Dr van Gemert said.

"I do see a lot of diabetes and thyroid and other endocrine problems in pregnancy, which kind of need to be seen face-to-face in a timely fashion."

If you are in need of endocrinology services, you can contact Gilmour Street Specialists by calling 6330 4600.