Welcome to Canberra Paediatric Specialists, a team of dedicated Paediatricians, Paediatric Surgeons and support staff who aim to provide excellent medical care to children from birth to 16 years, in the context of their family and community. We want to see all children thrive and fulfil their potential.
Canberra Paediatric Specialists is pleased to welcome Dr Florence Ngu and A/Prof Celine Hamid, paediatric surgeons, to the team. Dr Ngu and A/Prof Hamid are taking referrals for surgical care and provide surgical services at both Calvary John James Hospital and the Canberra Hospital.
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Our Team
We are a team of medical practitioners specialising in paediatric medicine and paediatric surgery, and supported by experienced administrative staff. A short biography for each team member is shown below, together with the days on which they are available for appointments.
Dr Danielle Blake
Dr Danielle Blake is a General Paediatrician with nearly 20 years’ experience. She is a graduate of the University of Newcastle and completed a Masters degree in Paediatric Medicine through the University of Sydney. She trained in paediatrics through the John Hunter Children’s Hospital, Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network and the Canberra Hospital. She was awarded Fellowship of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians in 2013. She is a Visiting Medical Officer at Calvary John James Hospital as well as Consultant Paediatrician at Canberra Paediatric Specialists, caring for children from birth – 16 years of age. She is an APLS instructor and an examiner for the Royal College of Physicians paediatric clinical examinations.
When she’s not at work you can usually find her riding her bike, skiing, or spending time with her husband and two daughters.
Dr Blake is available for appointments on Monday through Thursday. Dr Blake is on-call at Calvary John James Hospital for one week in approximately every five weeks. While it may be possible to make an appointment for her on-call week, it is possible that the appointment will be delayed or may have to be re-scheduled, when she is called away to care for newborns. Dr Blake’s books are currently closed to new referrals for neurodevelopmental and behavioural issues such as ADHD and ASD but she continues to accept referrals for complex and chronic medical conditions requiring specialist care.
Dr Kim Bland
Dr Kim Bland is a dedicated Paediatrician who looks after babies and children aged up to 16 years. After graduating from Flinders University in Adelaide, South Australia, Dr Bland trained in the Southern Sydney Network before moving to the Sydney Children’s Hospital in Randwick and then completed her paediatric training at The Canberra Hospital in the ACT. Dr Bland’s training has included exposure to the sub-specialty areas of Paediatric neurology and endocrinology.
Dr Bland also has an interest in medical education and culture in medicine. In 2018 Dr Bland obtained Fellowship with the Higher Education Academy and now sits on the Canberra Regional Medical Education Committee. Dr Bland is also involved in teaching medical students, junior doctors and in particular, preparing Paediatric trainees for Fellowship exams.
Outside of medicine, Dr Bland enjoys spending time with friends and family, swimming, orienteering and travel.
Dr Bland believes all children should be supported and empowered to reach their full potential and enjoys the rewards of helping and watching children do this.
Dr Bland is available for appointments on Wednesdays, however her books are currently closed to new referrals.
Dr Florence Ngu
Dr Florence Ngu grew up in Sydney and obtained her medical degree from the University of New South Wales, graduating with first class honours. She commenced General Surgical training in Canberra, but soon discovered that her true passions were in Paediatric Surgery. Dr Ngu undertook her Paediatric Surgery training in hospitals across Sydney, Canberra and Brisbane before completion at the Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne. She has undertaken further post-Fellowship training at the Sydney Children’s Hospital in Randwick and the Queensland Children’s Hospital in Brisbane.
As a Mum of two young children herself, Dr Ngu understands the anxiety that parents and families have when their child needs to undergo surgery.
Outside of work, when she is not running after her two rugrats, you might find her poking around the local library, cooking, or dreaming of the next ski holiday.
Associate Professor Celine Hamid is a Paediatric Surgeon with 27 years’ experience. She trained in paediatric surgery initially in India obtaining MCh in Paediatric Surgery in 1997 and then did advanced training in Australia working in Canberra Hospital, Westmead Children’s hospital, Monash Hospital and the Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne. She was awarded Fellowship of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons in Paediatric Surgery in 2009. She has worked as a consultant Paediatric Surgeon in India, Malaysia, and Australia.
She is a Visiting Medical Officer at Calvary John James Hospital as well as the Head of Unit of Paediatric Surgery and Consultant Paediatric Surgeon at Canberra Hospital. She accepts referrals for all Paediatric Surgical problems including General Paediatric Surgery, Neonatal surgery, Paediatric Urology from birth to 16 years of age. She is also passionate about rural and regional surgery and provides a service as a Consultant Paediatric Surgeon in Wagga Wagga across both Public and private hospitals caring for children with surgical problems across the Riverina and surroundings.
Dr Hamid Is also involved in teaching and mentoring Medical students of The University of Notre Dame, University of NSW and The Australian National University as well as registrars in General Surgery and Paediatric Surgery.
When she’s not at work, she enjoys volunteering in the Pacific, cooking, and travelling.Dr Hamid is available for appointments at the Canberra Paediatric Specialists, Deakin, ACT
Ms Robyn Walford is an experienced medical receptionist who is a valuable team member and first point of contact for patients and parents. She has a passion for helping children and their parents access high-quality and timely paediatric care.
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Appointments
Call +61 (0)2 5104 0770 or email hello@foreverychild.com.au to make an appointment. If you have a particular preference for a time and day, please be sure to include that in your email, noting that requests further ahead will be easier to accommodate. We aim to respond promptly to all booking requests.
Appointments are made after a referral has been received for your child. All referrals are triaged to determine the urgency of the appointment and detailed referrals help to facilitate this process.
GP referrals are valid for 12 months from the date of your child’s first appointment with their specialist, while specialist-to-specialist referrals are only valid for 3 months. While we make every effort to notify you of the need for an updated referral, it is the responsibility of the patient or carer to ensure there is a valid referral in place. Appointments held without a valid referral are not eligible for the Medicare rebate and you will be responsible for the full fee charged by your specialist. If you are unsure whether your child’s referral is valid, please contact the reception team.
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Guidance
What to bring to your child’s appointment:
referral
patient registration form
Child Health Record (‘blue book’)
results of any relevant investigations
correspondence from relevant assessments such as therapy or specialist appointments
list of medicines and other therapies including alternative/complementary therapies
other things that may be important depending on the reason for the appointment, such as:
top three concerns for your child
school reports
The following links provide Paediatric health information for kids, for parents, for GPs and other medical professionals.
These links are intended to guide further exploration of paediatric topics, but do not replace individualised medical assessment and advice. The websites and the information they contain are the responsibility of the respective organisations and are not monitored by Canberra Paediatric Specialists.
