Meet The Team

Dr Liz Phillips

MBBS,(HONS),MD,MSC,FRCP(LONDON,EDINBURGH)
FRACP GASTROENTEROLOGIST/THERAPEUTIC ENDOSCOPIST.

I trained in the North of England and I was a Consultant in General Medicine and  Gastroenterology in Northumberland for 16 years before moving to New Zealand with  my family in 2013 to take up a Consultant post in General Medicine and  Gastroenterology at Waikato DHB. I am passionate about good clinical care and am  valued for my clinical expertise, compassionate and empathetic approach to patients  and families, listening skills and honesty.

Areas of expertise 

I have over 26 years of gastroenterology experience in both luminal gastroenterology  and general hepatology. This includes:  

  • Inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis and  microscopic colitis)  
  • Coeliac disease  
  • Functional gastrointestinal disorders  
  • Chronic pancreatitis  
  • Anaemia  
  • Colorectal cancer  

• Chronic liver disease including fatty liver disease, haemochromatosis, alcohol  dependence, autoimmune liver disease and hepatocellular cancer  • Gastroscopy including oesophageal dilatation, PEG placement, oesophageal  banding varices, polyp removal, management of acute GI bleeds  • Colonoscopy with polyp removal including endomucosal resection up to 4cm,  chromoendoscopy, colonoscopic surveillance, National Bowel Cancer  screener. My key performance indicators for colonoscopy are excellent,  comfort scores good and I have had no major complications in the last 25  years.

Qualifications: 

  • MBBS (Hons), B. Med Sci, Diploma Adolescent Medicine, MD, MSc, FRCP (London and Edinburgh), FRACP

Current employment: 

  • Consultant Physician in General Medicine and Gastroenterologist Waikato DHB.
  • National Bowel Cancer Screening Programme Clinical lead Waikato.

Training 

  • Undergraduate Degree University of Newcastle upon Tyne 
  • Physician training:
    – Newcastle Central Hospitals (RVI, Newcastle General Hospital and Freeman Hospital), Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
    – Ashington General Hospital, UK
  • Research Fellowship
    – Department of Medicine, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
    – Freeman Hospital Newcastle upon Tyne

Memberships 

  • Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians 
  • Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians (London and Edinburgh) 
  • Internal Medicine Society of Australia and New Zealand 
  • The New Zealand Society of Gastroenterology
  • The American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy

Research 

I have completed an MSc in Transformational Leadership with a dissertation on patient participation in health service delivery. I have been involved with teaching and training of basic examination skills to undergraduates and quality improvement research, presenting papers in Australia and New Zealand on acute medical care, management of stranded patients, and quality improvements in IBD delivery.

Amber Sanders

NZRN,BSC/PGCERT/PGDIP
CLINICAL NURSE SPECIALIST/NURSE ENDOSCOPIST

I qualified with a Bachelor of nursing degree in 2010 and have worked within Endoscopy at Waikato hospital for the past eleven years. I was the Pillcam lead clinical nurse and the lead nurse teaching within the Endoscopy units complex procedures in ERCP and EUS.

I provided staff education and carried the portfolio for teaching and auditing nurses in nurse led informed consent. Further, I was the lead for teaching direct observation of practice to ensure staff were at auditable level. During this time I also completed a postgraduate certificate through the university of Auckland including Advanced nursing which included Clinical reasoning and diagnostic nursing practice.

I then completed a Postgraduate Diploma through Auckland university in Biological sciences and Pharmacology to continue on with a further two specialist Endoscopy specific papers. I became a clinical nurse specialist in 2019 after completing my Nurse endoscopist training at Waikato dhb, becoming the first home grown and independent nurse endoscopist in New Zealand. I have been providing independent scope lists for the past 2 years within Waikato dhb.

I have a special interest in patient centered care and my passion is to ensure patients feel listened to and supported with their health needs while feeling empowered to live their best life with their health at the forefront. I provide a positive, enthusiastic approach to patient centred care and can be your nurse point of care and support within Canny lass Gastro services.