At The Gympie Clinic, the doctors, nurses and administration staff are dedicated to caring for our patients and the Gympie community.
Independent Doctors:
Dr Matthis Ranaweera MBBS FRACGP
Dr Matthias Ranaweera is a fellow of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP). He attained a Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery at the University of Adelaide and worked at the Royal Adelaide Hospital before moving back to Queensland.
Currently he is an Associate Lecturer at the Griffith and is a GP Supervisor for the Royal Australia College of General Practitioner and Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine. He also works in the Sunshine Coast University Hospital and Gympie hospital providing urology outpatient services. Matthias has a keen interest in skin cancers, travel medicine and chronic disease management. In particular he is passionate about men’s healh and family planning. Matthias was trained in no-scapel vasectomy and offers this service in both Gympie and Nambour. For more information, head to Vasectomy Doctor.
Outside of his clinical work he enjoys spending time and travelling with his wife and two children, running, gardening and golf, lots of golf!
Dr Matthias Ranaweera is an independant medical practitioner responsible for his own clinical and billing decisions. (ABN: 88 729 670 279)
Not currently taking new patients.
Dr Jane Woodward MBBS(HONS) FRACGP Dip RACOG
Dr Jane Woodward has been servicing the Gympie community for over 30 years. She is a well liked, warm and caring GP. Jane is retiring in mid-2025 and as such is not taking on new patients.
Dr Jane Woodward is an independant medical practitioner responsible for her own clinical and billing decisions. (ABN: 45 571 32 0869)
Not currently taking new patients. Retiring June 2025
Dr Elizabeth (Lizzie) Cooper BSc(Hons) MBChB FRACGP
Dr Lizzie Cooper is an experienced British born and trained doctor, who relocated to Australia with her family in 2016. After over 10 years of broad hospital based medical experience, with a particular focus on women’s health, Lizzie chose to train as a specialist general practitioner, joining The Gympie Clinic in 2022. She is a Fellow of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners.
Lizzie enjoys all areas of general practice but has particular interests in women & children’s health.
Lizzie is married to Stuart, also a GP at the clinic and they have 3 children. In her spare time Lizzie enjoys travel, a wide range of crafts, is a huge Harry Potter fan and loves being in the outdoors.
Dr Elizabeth Cooper is an independant medical practitioner responsible for her own clinical and billing decisions. (ABN: 43 372 260 655)
Not currently taking new patients.
Dr Stuart Cooper BSc(Hons), MBChB, MRCGP, FRACGP, DipOccMed
Dr Stuart Cooper is a British born and trained GP who joined The Gympie Clinic in 2021. He is a Fellow of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners. Stuart is passionate about family general practice due to the breadth of medicine it allows him to practice, as well as the long term relationship and continuity of care it enables him to offer patients.
He enjoys being a medical generalist and is experienced in all areas of general practice but has special interests in male health, chronic disease management and palliative care. Stuart is also an experienced occupational physician. He has worked with organisations spanning all industry sectors to assist them in managing the health and wellbeing of their employees.
In his spare time Stuart enjoys spending time with his family, travel, being in the water and the great outdoors. He is married to Lizzie, who is also a GP at the clinic and they have 3 children, so their house is never quiet but always great fun!
Dr Stuart Cooper is an independant medical practitioner responsible for his own clinical and billing decisions. (ABN: 35 692 507 873)
Not currently taking new patients.
Dr Malika Loeckx MD (Belgium) FRACGP
Dr Malika Loeckx is an independant medical practitioner responsible for her own clinical and billing decisions. (ABN: 55 606 400 481)
Not currently taking new patients.
Registrars / Training Doctors:
Dr Rhys Williams MD, BAppSc
Dr Rhys Williams is a final year Registrar who will join the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners as a Fellow in mid-2025. He is a dedicated practitioner who strives to give his patients a welcoming and caring experience.
In his free time, he enjoys time with his family, squash and mixing up a great cocktail!
Dr Shabnam Fathian MD (Iran)
Dr Shabnam joined The Gympie Clinic in 2024 after relocating to the area with her family from Iran. She is an experienced GP who is currently working towards her Fellowship with the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners.
Shabnam enjoys the wide range of cases that general practice offers and is particularly keen to begin building a strong relationship with her patients.
Dr Tanzi Smith BEnvEng (Hons) BSci PhD MD
Dr Tanzi Smith is a former Gympie resident who has returned to the region to undertake her general practrice training with the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine. Tanzi also works at the Gympie General Hospital in the emergency department.
Tanzi has an interest in Indigenous health and is looking forward to settling back into the Gympie lifestyle and building a patient base for the long term.
Dr Melissa Pope MBBS SCHP
Dr Melissa Pope is a final year Registrar with the Autralian College of Rural and Remote Medicine. She is soon to be Fellowed with the college. Mel currently also works at Gympie General Hospital in the Paediatics ward and outpatients clinic. She has a keen interest in children’s health.
Mel is new to the Gympie region and looking forward to continuing to build on her skills and serve the Gympie community.
Dr Sujeewa Palagama MBBS (Hons) Sri Lanka, MMedRes
Sr Sujeewa (Suj) is undertaking his first year in general practitioner training with the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine. Suj is an experienced clinician and academic who is very keen to learn the ins and outs of general practice. He has a keen interest in vascular, general surgical and procedural medicine.
Suj enjoys spending time with his wife and daughter, gardening and travelling (to New Zealand and Japan in particular!).
Our Nurses:
Emma (Nurse Manager)
Emma is a local, experienced Registered Nurse who leads the nursing team of The Gympie Clinic. Emma is one of 3 nurses that work within the chronic disease management and diabetes fieldsat the clinic.
Nicky
An experienced Registered Nurse, Nicky works with our chronic disease management team. Nicky particularly enjoys working with her DVA and CVC patients.
Danielle
Dani is a nurse immuniser who also assists with chronic disease management. She is our Qfever expert and happily offers Qfever immunisation services within the clinic.
Rachel
Gympie born and bred, Registered Nurse Rachel has been wth the clinic since 2019. In that time Rachel has found she most enjoys the family feel of the clinic and the joy she gets from caring for multiple generations of the same family. She also particularly enjoys the process around immunisations. Rachel loves spending time with family and friends and exploring the gympie region and beyond frm the back of a Harley Davidson!
Elaine
Elaine has been with The Gympie Clnic since 2010. Her role as an Endorsed Enrolled Nurse has given her the opportunity to explore many parts of general practice nursing and she has found that her passions lie with wound care, chronic health, vaccinations and minor procedures. She also feels a strong sense of avhievement at the end of the day knowing she has dne her best to help patients feel better and well supported.
Elaine feels that her experience as a Mum of 5 has really helped her ability to multi-task in the busy clinic! Outside of work, Elaine enjoys puzzles, watching movies with her family and travelling.
Nicola
Registered Nurse Nicola has worked with The Gympie Clinic since 2021. She enjoys building rapport with patients and taking care of them when in need. She particularly enjoys wound care.
Freddie
Freddie joned the clinic straight from university in 2022 after graduation as a Registered Nurse. She’s passionate and dedicated to her job with a keen interest in wound care. She is always working to build her skills and enjoys working in a clinic that can foster her love of learning.
Annie
A recent Registered Nurse graduate, Annie joined the clinic’s nursing team in late 2024. She’s dedicated, caring and enjoying getting to learn the way of general practice. Annie is also a graduate nurse at gympie General Hospital where she works in the emergency department.
Georgie
The newest member of our nursing team, Registered Nurse Georgie is a newcomer to Gympie after relocating from regional NSW. Georgie is a keen learner and is enjoying meeting new patients and expanding her skill set in general practice.
Our Management and Reception Team:
Lauren (Practice Manager)
Alycon (Assistant Practice Manager)
Alycon has been a long-term member of The Gympie Clinic family. She moved from medical receptionist to Assistant Practice Manager in 2022. In that time she has grown in her role and helped build an excellent reception team. She takes great pride in delivery quality work and enjoys assisting patients and building rapport with them. She also very much enjoys meeting the newborn additions to patients families!
Alycon enjoys playing hockey and horseriding. She is also the clinic’s resident birthday cake maker!
Andrea
Andrea has recently moved back to her hometown Gympie to be closer to family. She has extensive experience in healthcare starting in 2007, having held roles in gemeral practice and non-gp specialty practices. Andrea is one of the smiling faces you will see when you enter the clinic and she enjoys building camaraderie with patients and watching their families grow.
Outside of the clinic, Andrea enjoys the beach, reading, videogames and exploring the beatiful South East Queensland region.
Feel free to say Hi to Andrea the next time you visit our clinic!
Glenda
Glenda joined The Gympie Clinic family in 2022 and since then has become legendary among the team, and some patients, for her legendary dry wit! Glenda enjoys working with friendly and appreciative patients and aims to create a welcoming environment for all.
An avid artist, Glenda is also responsible for much of the artwork in the consulting rooms and waiting areas of the clinic. If anything catches your eye, she’s happy to sell!
Kym
Relatively new to the team, Kym is an experienced medical receptionist who enjoys assisting patients in need.
Julia
Julia joined the clinic in eary 2024 afrer making the move to Gympie (which she loves). She holds a Cert 3 in Medical Reception and Business Administration and has held medical reception jobs across a number of specialties in Brisbane, the UK and Sunshine Coast. She enjoys helping patients as much as she can making them smile or laugh to brighten their day.
Julia’s interests are varied, she enjoys painting, gardening, learning musical instruments, listening to vinyl records, travelling and spending time at the beach or with family and friends.
Would you like to make an appointment?
If you would like to make an appointment with one of our doctors please call our practice on (07) 5482 8422 or book an appointment online now.