GI Health are a group of Specialist Gastroenterologists who are conveniently located at St John of God Hospital Subiaco WA.
Our team are all experienced medical professionals who cooperate closely with medical and surgical colleagues at St John of God Hospital Subiaco.
The following services are offered:
Gastroenterology
Gastroenterologists are specialists who care for patients with gastrointestinal disorders as well as conditions affecting the liver, biliary system and pancreas. They provide consultation and follow up of patients with these conditions in conjunction with a primary care provider or General Practitioner. Gastroenterologists perform Endoscopy, which involves examination of the gastrointestinal tract via the mouth or rectum, enabling diagnosis of your presenting symptoms, as well as minimally invasive non-surgical treatment of some of these conditions.
Dr Donald Ormonde – MBBS , FRACP, PhD
Dr Ormonde is a Gastroenterologist who underwent his undergraduate training at the University of Western Australia. Following this he completed a PhD and subsequently underwent further studies in Toronto, Canada completing a Masters in Interventional Endoscopy from the University of Toronto. During that period he sub-specialised in Interventional Endoscopy. Dr Ormonde is an Associate Clinical Professor at the University of Notre Dame and a Consultant Gastroenterologist at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital.
Dr Ormonde is currently the Head of Department of Gastroenterology at St John of God Hospital. He is also the Chairman of the Medical Advisory Committee for St John of God Hospital Subiaco and is a past Chairman of the Australian Gastrointestinal Endoscopy Association.
Dr Ormonde has a large private practice managing patients with ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease. He is considered an expert in the management of colonic polyps, gallstones and gastrointestinal tract cancer. He also manages patients with the full range of gastrointestinal conditions. He is currently available to consult, manage and endoscope in all areas of Gastroenterology.
Dr Ormonde has current re-accreditation in Colonoscopy with a documented ileal intubation rate of 99% and an adenoma detection rate of 70%
Dr Charlie Viiala – MBBS (UWA), FRACP
Dr Charlie Viiala is a Perth born and trained Gastroenterologist with a broad range of interests including irritable bowel syndrome and other functional gut disorders, inflammatory bowel disease, helicobacter pylori, colorectal cancer screening, capsule endoscopy and colonoscopy quality assurance. Dr Viiala is also a lecturer with the School of Medicine at Notre Dame University. His research topics over the years have included Helicobacter Pylori, cancer screening and Colonoscopy quality.
At GI Health, he is part of a team providing a quality Endoscopy and consultation service based at St John of God Subiaco. He also performs open-access procedures at Osborne Park Hospital.
Dr Colin Sherrington – B Med Sci, MBBS (hons), FRACP, PhD
Dr Sherrington graduated top of his year at The University of Tasmania in 1988, with first class honours. He was awarded prizes in Medicine, Surgery, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Psychiatry, and research in Child Health (Joint).
He undertook Paediatrics training at the prestigious Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne, where he was Chief Registrar in 1995. Following basic physician training, he completed advanced training in gastroenterology over a 7 year period, firstly in Paediatrics and then separately in adult medicine, both in Melbourne, Perth, and overseas. Over this time he gained extensive training and experience in the full breadth of gastroenterology, including diagnosis, interventional endoscopy, nutritional support, liver transplantation and research. He was awarded Fellowship of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (FRACP) in 1997 and completed his Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree at the University of Melbourne in 2003.
Over the past 30 years of medical practice he has worked in a wide range of settings, including as full time university academic, staff specialist at public hospitals, and is currently in full time private practice. He has undertaken over 30,000 endoscopic procedures, for people ranging from premature newborns to others with advanced age, with low complication rates. He has had wide involvement in professional activities including medical teaching, training and assessment, and overseas aid. He was an examiner for the Royal Australasian College of Physicians for many years, including several as a member of the National Clinical Examination Panel. He has undertaken extensive unpaid voluntary work, including overseas aid (Chile and Fiji), and being a member of various professional committees and boards, including the ethics committee at The Royal Children’s Hospital and The Board of the Asthma Foundation.
Current professional interests include all aspects of therapeutic endoscopy, particularly colon cancer screening, prevention, and diagnosis. He has a long interest in ensuring high quality endoscopy, and has maintained a database of procedures and outcomes throughout his career. He was arguably the first in Western Australia to routinely monitor indices of colonoscopy quality for all procedures, and for voluntarily reporting these indices. His adenoma detection rate (a marker of colonoscopy quality) is internationally superior at around 65%. He has been recognised by the Australian Government Department of Health for his high rates of polyp detection.
He has a reputation for an excellent “bedside manner”, and has received numerous commendations for this, including winning the monthly “Service Ethos Award” for all working at St John of God Hospital – Subiaco on 1 occasion, and being runner up on a further 2 occasions.
At the present time, Dr Sherrington does private and public hospital procedures at Peel Health Campus in addition to his practice with GI Health at St John of God Subiaco.