Newcastle
(02) 4957 7900
|
Maitland
(02) 4933 0611
HTC Jebb & Vera discussing a patient

About us

Meet our team

Make an appointment

It’s always good to know who you’re going to be seeing when you have a medical appointment – it can make the process more comfortable.

We have a team of qualified hand therapists working between our two clinics. We also have a separate admin team in each location who are your point of contact for appointments.

Felicity

Director/Principal & Occupational Therapist

Accredited Hand Therapist (as awarded by the AHTA), Certified Hand Therapist (USA)

Felicity has over twenty years experience in hand and upper limb rehabilitation. After graduating from the University of Queensland in 1995, she gained her Certified Hand Therapy (CHT) qualification in 2003, before completing a Masters in Public Health in 2007.

Felicity has worked in both the public and private sectors in Australia and the UK. She gained her hand therapy experience at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, St Thomas Hospital, London and Sydney Hospital Hand Unit.

After moving to Newcastle in 2006 Felicity became the director and principal therapist of the Hand Therapy Centre. Felicity has developed a team of like-minded clinicians with a passion for hand therapy. With strong ethical principles and in pursuit of excellence, the Hand Therapy Centre has become a well-respected institution among patients and clinicians alike.

Felicity is a full member of the AHTA and has been involved in teaching their level-one splinting course. She is also involved in teaching undergraduate students at the University of Newcastle.

Clinical interests:
Complex trauma, wrist instabilities, arthritis

Vera

Physiotherapist

Accredited Hand Therapist (as awarded by the AHTA), Certified Hand Therapist (USA)

Vera graduated from the University of Sydney in 2002 with a degree in physiotherapy. She’s been treating hand injuries since 2005 and gained most of her experience working at the Westmead Hospital Hand Therapy and Plastic Unit.

Vera successfully completed her Certified Hand Therapy exam in 2009 and is a full member of the Australian Hand Therapy Association (AHTA). Since moving to Newcastle in 2008, she has been a vital member of the Hand Therapy Centre team.

Clinical interests:
Complex traumatic hand injuries, tendon rehabilitation

Melissa Wallace

Melissa

Physiotherapist

Accredited Hand Therapist (as awarded by the AHTA), Certified Hand Therapist (USA)

Melissa graduated from Newcastle University with a Bachelor of Physiotherapy in 2009. After graduating, she worked as a physiotherapist for Hunter New England Health. She discovered her passion for hand therapy in 2012 at the John Hunter Hospital.

Melissa completed the prestigious Sydney Hospital Hand Therapy Clinical Fellowship in 2014 and her MSc (Hand Therapy) in 2019. She’s currently involved in teaching the Level 1 sports course (hand component) for the Australian Physiotherapy Association (APA).

Clinical interests:
Hand injuries, evidence-based treatments

Hannah

Occupational Therapist

Associate AHTA member

Hannah studied Occupational Therapy at Canterbury Christ Church University in Kent, UK. After graduating in 2006, she gained valuable experience in both public and private sector hospitals in both the UK and Australia.

After completing handSPARKS intensive KickStart program in hand therapy, Hannah joined us here at the Hand Therapy Centre in October 2017. She’s currently working towards her full membership with the Australian Hand Therapy Association (AHTA).

Clinical interests:
Tendon rehabilitation, trauma, arthritis

Jebb

Occupational Therapist

Accredited Hand Therapist (as awarded by the AHTA), Certified Hand Therapist (USA)

Jebb graduated with a Bachelor of Occupational Therapy from the University of Newcastle in 2013. After working in mental health and vocational rehabilitation in both Australia and New Zealand, he transitioned over to hand therapy in 2018.

Jebb completed his Postgraduate Certificate In Hand and Upper Limb Therapy at Auckland University of Technology in 2018. He joined us here at the Hand Therapy Centre in 2019 and completed his full AHTA membership in 2021.

Clinical interests:
Return to function, including hobbies and sport

Breanna

Occupational Therapist

Associate AHTA member

Bree graduated from the University of Newcastle with a Bachelor of Occupational Therapy with honours in 2017. She is an associate member of the Australian Hand Therapy Association (AHTA). She has completed a number of hand therapy courses through the AHTA. Her passion for hand therapy began during her work in hand therapy on the Gold Coast. Bree has a caring approach and strives to tailor plans specifically to patient’s goals to help return to meaningful activities. She works hard behind the scenes to ensure patient care is organised and at a high standard. Bree has an eye for detail with custom splint fabrication.

She is skilled treating a variety of hand injuries and conditions, with a particular interest in post-surgical care.

Clinical interests:
Post operative care and creating splints and casts

Tim

Physiotherapist

Associate AHTA member

Tim completed his Masters of Physiotherapy in 2008 at The University of Sydney before working across both the public and private sectors in Australia and England. Tim has extensive experience in sports injuries having been involved with teams from local to international levels. His most recent appointments were with the QLD medical team for Touch football State of Origin 2022 and physiotherapist for the NRL referees in 2021. Tim has been involved extensively with local teams including head physiotherapist for Wyong Lakes AFL club and the Central Coast Academy of Sport.

Expanding on his sporting background, Tim has been specialising in hand therapy since 2019 and joins us part-time from the Central Coast. He is currently involved in the mentoring process to complete his full AHTA Membership.

Clinical interests:
Return to sport, fracture management, ligament injuries

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