Welcome to our Staff Biographies page, which includes profiles for staff at all of our clinics.

Dr. Neki Patel - Chiropractor

Dr. Neki Patel trained at the Anglo-European College of Chiropractic. Neki is a member of the New Zealand and British Chiropractic Associations and the New Zealand Academy of Sports. Neki has worked with building a well rounded family orientated clinic. Neki uses chiropractic techniques not only to fix backs, but also to help improve patient’s range of movement and their levels of comfort with all joint and soft tissue injuries. He has worked on various high profile rugby players, worked with the Australasian PGA since 1999. He was the chiropractor for the New Zealand Commonwealth Games team to Manchester. He has treated various international ski teams and ice hockey teams. His main aim is the integration of treatment for the patient’s best possible benefit.

Gina Nonumalo – Office Manager

Gina moved to Cromwell from Wellington with her husband and teenage son in October 2009 initially to work in a family business. Happy to leave peak hour traffic, reports and deadlines behind, they enjoy the pace, friendliness and physical beauty of Central Otago. Gina has a Master’s Degree in Nursing and post graduate qualifications in management and brings with her a background of clinical leadership and management roles in the health sector. Gina is thoroughly enjoying being part of the Cromwell Health team and meeting the people of Cromwell who come into the clinic.

Connor Brennan - Physiotherapist

Conor comes from County Tipperary in Ireland and graduated from University of Limerick with an honors degree in Physiotherapy in 2007.

Since graduating he has worked in the private practice setting in Limerick and more recently Dunedin. He has also worked with a number of sporting teams from basketball at international level to rugby teams at club and provincial levels. Working with specialists in sports medicine has fueled his interest in musculoskeletal and sporting injuries. He focuses on manual therapy in addition to restoring muscle imbalances and joint stability incorporating core strengthening and Pilates in the rehabilitation of musculoskeletal injuries.

He is also a keen sportsman with interests in hurling, football, rugby, running, surfing and snowboarding.

Rebecca Whyte - Massage Therapist

Rebecca Whyte spends a lot of time with rugby players. In fact she is the massage therapist of choice for the All Blacks and she has worked with other key teams including the Chiefs over the years. She has a reputation as one of the best sports massage therapists in the business and this year organised the massage team when the All Blacks played France in Dunedin. Working for Queenstown Health alongside chiropractor Neki Patel and his team of physiotherapists she also had a key role at the 2008 New Zealand Golf Open at The Hills.

Now the Queenstown therapist has moved into a new area – rugby team management. She was inspired through her rugby contacts to help form the Southern Storm Rugby Sevens team which has gained selection to compete in the 2009 Cook Islands International Sevens Tournament in November. Her partner Daniel Iosefo is coach and a playing member and the young team is made up of a talented group of Arrowtown, Queenstown and Central Otago players. “The Storm is the only South Island team competing and it is a huge opportunity for our Otago Country players to play against some of the best in the world,” says Rebecca.

Rosana Jadue - Massage Therapist

Rosana is originally from Chile and has studied in both Europe and South America. Her treatment style is a fusion of deep-tissue massage and trigger point therapy.

Rosana specialises in Quiromassage, which improves the lymphatic system and increases circulation. As well as having 6 years general practice as a massage therapist, she also has experience working with top international sports people including the All Blacks and Australian PGA Tour golfers.

Yvonne Plunkett - Physiotherapist

Yvonne Plunkett is from County Westmeath in Ireland and she graduated from the University of Limerick in 2006 with an Honours degree in Physiotherapy. After graduating, Yvonne worked as a rotational physiotherapist at the Midland Regional Hospital in Mullingar, gaining extensive experience in musculoskeletal, orthopeadic, medical and neurological areas, before setting off on her travels through Asia and Australia at the end of 2008.

Keen to continue her development, Yvonne has undertaken courses in areas such as soft tissue release and spinal manipulation and integrates these
techniques into her treatments.

Yvonne is interested in all sports that get the adrenalin pumping, with a special fondness for watersports and snowboarding. She has worked with many sports teams at both local and inter-county level and has a particular interest in sports injuries and rehab. Since coming to New Zealand in March 2009, Yvonne has immensely enjoyed working in an active community where clients are as motivated in their recovery as she is in assisting them achieve their goals.

Melanie Kees – Marketing/Reception

Mel's background is in Marketing and Event Management. She spent 8 years in the UK and Europe managing global conference and incentive programmes before becoming Events and Marketing Manager on the World Rally Championship. A job that satisfied some of her career aspirations and her love of world travel!

Finally returning to New Zealand she joined Motorsport New Zealand as Marketing Manager, before taking time off to be mum to Toby.

Now back where she started, in Central Otago, Mel is enjoying her varied role working across all of the clinics as well as working with Neki on the health portion of 82football.com.

Kerrie Gale

Kerrie qualified as a Physiotherapist from the University of Southampton in 2007 and worked for 3 years at Portsmouth City Primary Care NHS Trust on the South Coast of England.

Her experience in the NHS covered a broad range of area's including; Community, Elderly Rehabilitation, Mental Health, Musculoskeletal Outpatients, Trauma and Elective Orthopaedics, Stroke Rehabilitation, Respiratory, Hydrotherapy, Rheumatology and Neurological Outpatients covering Parkinson’s, Multiple Sclerosis and Brain Injury. Kerrie also worked as part of the respiratory oncall team covering acutely unwell patients out of hours across all hospital settings including paediatrics and intensive care.

After leaving Portsmouth Kerrie worked as a locum within a Medical Physiotherapy team as a Senior Physiotherapist before leaving the UK to gain further travel and career experience in New Zealand. Kerrie has a particular interest in Rheumatology and ante/post natal care. Outside of work Kerrie is a keen swimmer, is learning to snowboard and very much enjoying the outdoors lifestyle New Zealand has to offer..

Jono King

Educated at Murdoch University’s School of Chiropractic and Sports Science in Perth, Western Australia, Jono has a keen interest in treating musculoskeletal complaints with a “holistic” and patient centred approach.

He grew up in a large family in south west W.A, the son of a solo G.P, and is very comfortable working within a close- knit, and health conscious community.

Jono has a strong love for surfing and the outdoors, which has given him a great appreciation for a healthy, active and well-balanced lifestyle.
Jono has travelled to India as part of a “Hands on India” chiropractic trip and to Carnarvon, North West regional W.A to provide free chiropractic care to many disadvantaged people. The experience and knowledge Jono gained from treating such a diverse range of people, has given him a keen understanding of pain and skeletal pathology, and how it affects our daily lives. Most importantly it has given him the ability to diagnose and treat many varied disorders, effectively and efficiently.

Simon Bourke - Chiropractor

Dr. Simon Bourke trained at the New Zealand College of Chiropractic. A former Queenstown resident, Simon suffered a serious sporting neck injury in his early 20’s and consequently was introduced to Chiropractic by Dr Neki Patel. After complete resolution of his injury at the hands of Dr Patel, Simon knew that Chiropractic was an amazing gift that he was destined to learn and give to others.

Simon believes everyone interested in reaching their health potential should be under Chiropractic care. He has worked with a diverse range of people from preschool children to top athletes including New Zealand and World Champion Muay Thai and Kickboxing Champions. Simon is excited to practice as a Chiropractor in Central Otago and thrives on the opportunity to work with the diverse population of athletes and family dynamics in Queenstown and Cromwell.

Daniel Judd - Acupuncturist

Daniel graduated with the National Diploma of Acupuncture at the start of 2000. He is a graduate of the New Zealand School of Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine and a current member of the New Zealand Register of Acupuncturists.

Being an ACC treatment provider since his graduation, Daniel has dealt with musculoskeletal injuries caused by stress and accident for over ten years. He has worked therapeutically with a range of people and physical complaints including serious sportspeople, hobbyists, everyday accidents, the elderly and the disabled.

Acupuncture is also excellent for other conditions of external, internal and emotional dis-ease and Daniel has diagnosed, treated and created treatment plans for many maladies at his private and community clinics during this time. These years of experience have provided Daniel with a skilled and multi-leveled approach. He employs the full scope of treatment methods including Acupuncture, Heat Therapy/ Moxibustion for nourishing, Cupping for reducing pain in stagnant muscles, Herbal Medicine for internal problems, Blood letting for varicose veins, SuJok Microsystems, Ear acupuncture and Tai Chi for rehabilitation and maximising the healing potential.

Daniel always makes it his business to know other practioners in the community and maintains a good rapport to help the patient with an integrated approach. He sees this holistic method as being the way forward within todays medicine. In his private clinic he has referrals from Chiroprators, Physiotherapists, Osteopaths, Naturopaths, Homeopaths and Cranial Sacral Therapists. Daniel is committed to community health and has created clinics and seminars for community initiatives like the “Be Well” health initiative, Fall Prevention Tai Chi and Maori health hui. He has also organised and held workshops for midwifes and pregnant mothers on “how to use acupressure for pain relief for birthing mothers,” as well as being an on-call support person for labouring mothers.

Daniel practices Tai Chi Chuan and Qigong and has learnt a lot about the energy of the body through this study. He will gladly offer classes and/or lessons to help people strengthen and realign any body disharmony.

Daniel has gained level 4 Certificates in Te Reo Maori (Maori Language) and Te Matauranga o Nga Waka (the knowledge of paddling canoes). He has a deep respect for the rich culture of this land, its people and those of the Pacific. One of his passions is to one day build a boat and navigate it traditionally throughout the pacific region. He is also a keen snowboarder.