AIR BALLOON SURGERY - Key Persons
Dr Gunning qualified from the University of Southampton in 2014 BMBS, BMedSci.
Before completing her general practice training in Bristol in 2019 she undertook her hospital training in and around the West Midlands.
Dr Gunning enjoys the variety that general practice provides and has a developing interest in lifestyle medicine.
She enjoys cooking, drawing and trail running in her spare time.
Dr Allerton was born in Bristol, graduated in Leeds, did her hospital training and met her husband in Yorkshire. Dr Allerton did her GP training in London, moved to Bristol to continue working as a GP whilst bringing up three children, moved to Cape Town for seven years and then came back to Bristol.
Whilst in Cape Town she worked in government day hospitals before completing her Masters in Public Health and working in HIV research at the University.
Dr Allerton enjoys hiking, family board games, reading and peace!
Dr Simmons has been working as a GP for over 20 years, and in Bristol for the past 10yrs. He has a long-term interest in health inequality, working in areas of high deprivation, and in international health where previously he worked in Central Asia for several years. He speaks a little Persian from his time there and always enjoys practicing his language skills with patients who have grown up in the region.
Dr Simmons enjoys the variety of work in General Practice and is just at home in the baby clinic as in the many local nursing and residential homes. He also works with patients with addiction issues and substance misuse. He is available to do steroid joint injections. Dr Simmons is interested in GP education and has been a GP trainer for several years encouraging the next generation of doctors to work in general practice. He also works for NHS England supporting GPs with there annual appraisals which is needed to ensure they have appropriate ongoing training.
He is married to Nancy and they have four children, although he says it feels like a lot more than this.
Dr Simmons enjoys cycling to work and always appreciates reminders to wear his helmet. In his spare time, he wiles the hours away on a small allotment, and when it rains, he is found making aeroplane models in his study.
Dr Jeganathan joined Air Balloon Surgery in 2003 when she moved to Bristol from London. In London she practised as a GP in and around Islington where she gained experience working in a varied community with challenging medical and social problems.
She is committed to providing a high standard of care to patients and takes a holistic approach, being aware of underlying issues and problems. In particular she places a high priority on enabling patients to make informed decisions about their care and to take responsibility for their ongoing health.
Dr Jeganathan is the practice leader in diabetes. In addition her particular areas of clinical interest are women's health, care of the elderly, dermatology and mental health.
Born in Sri Lanka, Dr Jeganathan lived in Zambia before moving to England in 1974. She now lives in Bristol with husband David and two children. Her interests are walking, travel, theatre, cinema, and food.
Dr Shivani Baynham currently works at Air Balloon Surgery on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.
Dr Baynham trained in the West Midlands and London. She has recently moved to Bristol with her family. Her special interests include Gynaecology, Sexual Health and Contraception including implants and coils.
When not at work, she enjoys swimming, travelling and reading. She is also enjoying living the south west and finding out what it has to offer.
Dr Clausen graduated from the University of Leeds in 2004. He completed his general practice training in Bristol in 2009, gaining membership of the Royal College of general practitioners. Dr Clausen also has a diploma in sexual and reproductive health and is qualified to fit and remove the contraceptive implant. He is our representative with Bristol Clinical Commissioning Group.
Following GP training, Dr Clausen volunteered in South Sudan for a year, before starting work at Air Balloon Surgery in 2011. He has also worked in Sri Lanka and Uganda.
Dr Clausen is a GP trainer, guiding doctors through qualification to become general practitioners. He also teaches medical students from the University of Bristol. He is a GP Appraiser for NHS England, assessing other GPs in their annual assessments.
He appreciates the opportunity to care for people within our community and enjoys the diversity of General Practice. He is a keen sportsman and an enthusiastic cook.
Kate Francis has extensive health care experience in primary care, in secondary care and as an advisor at a national level. She ran one of the first national waiting list initiatives for plastic surgery, and also has experience in hospital and primary care premises commissioning. She worked part time, as an Advisor to the Department of Health between 2009 and 2011. She is currently an advisor for NICE.
Taking a keen interest in the "wider picture" Kate likes to work across organisational boundaries, for example she is currently leading a working group for a local consortium to develop services across a number of practice to improve 24/7 access to General Practice for patients. Kate has many changing interests including research, teaching and development. She was a key person in establishing and maintaining the research unit within the practice. She worked with colleagues, to set up a development course for Practice Managers with the University of the West of England. She is a member of the Steering Group for the Practice Management Conferences run annually by Veale Wasbrough Vizard.
She became hooked on primary care as the most exciting, dynamic and progressive part of the NHS and feels this is where she can have most influence on patient care and work closely with front line clinicians which she enjoys. She sees her role as a strategic practice manager and as working with the partners to develop the practice and to provide high quality services to patients. She is the Registered Manager for CQC at the practice.
Kate is married to a teacher who works in a boarding school in Somerset. She lives about 8 miles outside Bath and enjoys riding the horse shared with her two daughters. She is also passionate about Cornwall and spends quite a lot of time there body boarding, having tried, but failed to learn to use a surf board. She also enjoys the theatre and cinema.