New doctor takes up post in Upwey

– Casey Neill
UPWEY has welcomed a new doctor to Main Street following almost a year of uncertainty.
Varghese Zachariah, known as Dr Zac, reopened a revamped Upwey Doctors surgery yesterday (Monday).
The clinic closed last March when doctors Nadine Fisher and Chandrika Thangarajah moved to Boronia Mall Clinic.
The former practice manager Jenny Kilpatrick told the Mail the building was too small to accommodate patients.
The closure left Upwey without a doctor for the first time in 50 years.
Dr Zac heard about Upwey’s plight during his 18 month stint at Selby Family Clinic. “We were getting a bit panicky when clinics closed up because the crowd was going to come flocking,” he said.
He decided to reopen the surgery and establish his own practice.
“It was a really run down place so I can understand why the doctors left. But they’d be surprised to see this place now because it’s totally revamped.”
Dr Zac moved to Australia from India in 2000 and has worked at Ringwood’s Maroondah Hospital, Monash Medical Centre and clinics in New South Wales and Foster.
Dr Zac has a specialised degree in paediatrics from Sydney’s Westmead Hospital. He has the skills to cope with minor emergencies following stints in hospital emergency rooms and can perform minor surgeries.
The surgery will also house a pathologist and, in time, more doctors.
Upwey Doctors is at 100 Main Street, Upwey.