Each of the Old Vic anaesthetists is a Fellow of the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists (FANZCA). They all work in both Public and Private practice and bring over 100 years of combined anaesthetic experience and a variety of different clinical interests to the group.
Dr Michael Bremner
BMedSci, MBBS (Tasmania), DAUK, FANZCA
Dr Bremner was born and raised in Hobart. He completed his medical degree from the University of Tasmania in 1993. After 2 years working at the LGH he moved to England to begin his anaesthetic training and complete a Diploma of Anaesthesia. After 18 months travelling and working overseas he returned to Perth, Western Australia to complete his anaesthetic specialist training and exams. He returned to Launceston in 2002 where he now works in both private and public practice. He has been the Supervisor of Training at the LGH and enjoys teaching medical students. He is married with four children and enjoys cycling and running.
Dr Christopher Reid
MBBS (Melbourne), FANZCA
Dr Reid graduated from the University of Melbourne in 1995, and completed his anaesthetic training through the Austin Hospital. He did his fellowship at the Royal London Hospital UK on the Management of Severe Trauma from the London based HEMS before coming to Launceston in 2004. He has a special interest in physiology and pharmacology and is a previous Primary Examiner for the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists. He has previously run the Launceston Morbidity and Mortality meetings and is a Senior Clinical Lecturer. He has three children and enjoys swimming, walking and going to the gym.
Dr Tom Hall
MBBS (Adelaide), FANZCA
Dr Hall grew up in regional South Australia and studied medicine in Adelaide before moving to Launceston in 2003. He began his anaesthetic training in Launceston then moved to Newcastle to further his training, becoming a fully qualified specialist in early 2012. He now works in both the public and private systems. He has a keen interest in teaching and currently runs the anaesthetic Morbidity and Mortality meetings in Launceston. He has his own website which can be viewed here.
Dr Rowena Lawson
BSc, MBChB (Otago), FANZCA
Dr Lawson grew up in Sydney, then went on to study music and science at the University of Otago in New Zealand. She completed her medical degree in 2003 before moving to Tasmania to do her anaesthetic training. She has finished two anaesthetic fellowships, the first in Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the Royal Womens Hospital in Sydney and the second in Ambulatory and Major general surgery at the Vancouver General Hospital in Canada. She returned to Launceston in 2012. Outside work she enjoys mountain biking, running, hiking, skiing and the occasional use of her cello.
Dr KC Pothapragada
MBBS, MD, FANZCA
Dr. Pothapragada was born and raised in India. He completed his medical degree in 2002 and Masters in Anaesthesia in 2007 and then went on to do a Fellowship in Neuroanaesthesia. He migrated to Tasmania with his family in 2016 and worked in both the Royal Hobart Hospital and Launceston General Hospital and obtained his Specialist Anaesthesia fellowship from the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists. He enjoys working in both Public and Private practice and loves teaching medical students. He is married with one child and three fur babies and enjoys running and swimming.
Dr Gregory Morris
MBBS (Hons), FANZCA
Greg was born and educated in Sydney. After graduating from Sydney University with First Class Honours in 1992, Dr Morris underwent anaesthesia training at St George and Westmead Hospitals (Sydney). He completed training in 1999 with a paediatric anaesthesia fellowship at the New Children’s Hospital (Sydney). A year of additional training followed in the USA in 2000. Since returning to Australia, Dr Morris has worked in Albury-Wodonga (NSW), Mackay (QLD) and now Launceston. He is married with 4 children.
Dr Michael Smallwood
BMBS (Hons), FACRRM, FRACGP, Dip Pall Care, FARGP, Rural Generalist – Anaesthesia & Retrieval Medicine
After a false start at the Adelaide Conservatorium of Music, Dr Smallwood completed his undergraduate medical training (Flinders) in 1995. He has worked in Darwin, Central Coast NSW, and Rural Victoria before moving to Tasmania in 2007 to complete further training in anaesthesia & retrieval medicine. He works as a GP anaesthetist in the public and private sectors, and is a senior retrievalist with Ambulance Tasmania Aeromedical Retrieval Service. Outside work he enjoys bushwalking, fishing, diving, and travel. Like Dr Lawson, his cello is sorely neglected.
Dr Dane Blackford
MBChB (Otago), FANZCA
Dr Blackford completed his medical degree and early junior medical officer training in South Island New Zealand. He commenced anaesthetic training in Tasmania in 2004, completing most of his speciality training here having been charmed by the beauty of the Island state. He has since completed a post speciality fellowship in Obstetric anaesthesia at the Vancouver Women’s and Children’s Hospital in British Columbia, Canada. His current professional interest areas continue to include Obstetric anaesthesia, and more recently, the opportunities to progress environmental sustainability in healthcare.