Meet the team

Mark Gilmour became the hospital director for both Practice Plus Group Urgent Treatment Centre, Gillingham and Practice Plus Group Surgical Centre, Ilford in December 2019.

Ben has been working for Practice Plus Group since 2013, coming from a background in IT & analytics before progressing onto change management.

Ben most recently worked within Practice Plus Group to review the patient pathway within its treatment centres, looking for process and efficiency improvements in a highly complex environment, in conjunction with the clinical teams.

In his current role as Operations Manager, Ben is responsible for the day-to-day running of all clinical and non-clinical aspects of the treatment centre, including financial performance, capacity planning and stakeholder management.

Sam has been with Practice Plus Group since 2008 and has performed diligently in a multitude of roles to date.  In her current position, Operational Manager, Sam is jointly responsible for the smooth day-to-day running of all clinical and non-clinical aspects of the treatment centre. She also focuses on financial performance and reporting, forecast planning, stakeholder management, performance management and new business development.

Sam has worked in health care for just over 10 years and is passionate about developing staff to provide the best possible service for patients. Outside of work, Sam loves to dance, particularly tap and jazz.

Mr Ahad graduated from Barts and the London School of Medicine before continuing his basic surgical and orthopaedic specialist training through North East London rotation. This included one year in the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital and three years at the Royal London Hospital. He was appointed at Barking Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals in 2010 as a Trauma Consultant where he helped improve the trauma service in one of the busiest trusts in the country. His interest in sports injury, complex fractures and hip pathology has led to several publications, and international presentations.

He joined Practice Plus Group in 2014, managing general orthopaedic conditions as well as sub-specialty in joint replacement and arthroscopic surgery. He is a meticulous, patient focused surgeon with a proven track record for delivering an excellent quality of service. He remains dedicated to teaching, audit and ongoing research. He has led and participated in numerous courses to train our next generation of surgeons. He is now the Clinical Director of Orthopaedic Surgery for Practice Plus Group, the challenge is to maintain high standards in all our sites.

He is a member of the British Orthopaedic Association and faculty of Medical Leadership and Management. He holds a health care advisory role to an NGO that has a care programme, including disaster relief, to over 70 countries.

Outside work he has been involved with the arts as a performer and later instructor/coordinator with events in the Royal Albert Hall, O2, Excel and Bloomsbury Theatre. He remains a keen sportsman enjoying Sunday League football and badminton. He relishes challenges linked with good causes and recently completed the London Marathon, Spanish Bull Run and Skydiving and continues to look for other adventures to raise awareness and money for charities.

Paula is a Registered General Nurse (RGN) who has clinical experience in major and minor orthopaedics, general surgery, plastics and endoscopy. Paula began her nursing career in 1997 and she joined Practice Plus Group in 2010 as theatre manager, before moving on to become our head of nursing in 2015.

She supports the clinical teams with the smooth running of the day-to-day day surgery and outpatient activities. Her role also includes significant policy and practise review as well as examining changing cultures within clinical settings.

Paula’s role enables her to work on one of her passions, care and quality. She particularly focuses on the education and development of clinical staff and patient experience.

Name: Mehtan Ahmed

Job title: Endoscopy Clinical Lead and Consultant Gastroenterologist

GMC number: 7088259

Specialty: Gastroenterology

Special interests: Endoscopy

Years of first medical qualifications: 2010

Year of becoming a specialist: 2019

Year of joining Practice Plus Group: 2020

Languages spoken: English

Personal interests: Origami

Professional profile:

Mehtan Ahmed graduated from Imperial College London in 2010 with distinctions in Medicine & Surgery, and a first-class honours BSc degree in Gastroenterology and Hepatology. He completed his training in the North Central and North West London deaneries, where he fostered an early interest in endoscopy at the prestigious Wolfson Unit for Endoscopy in St. Marks Hospital.

Dr. Ahmed joined Practice Plus Group in 2020 as the lead endoscopist for the Ilford and Gillingham sites, with the intention of upholding the outstanding standards of care at these centres. His specialty interests include complex polypectomy and water-aided colonoscopy.

Membership of professional, national or regional bodies: Royal College of Physicians, British Society of Gastroenterology.

Name: Mr Housein Hayali

Job title: Consultant Ophthalmologist

GMC number: 4758943

Specialty: Ophthalmology

Special interests: Cataract and anterior segment, medical retina and oculoplasty

Years of first medical qualifications: 1989

Year of becoming a specialist: 1999

Year of joining Practice Plus Group: 2007

Languages spoken: English, Arabic, Dutch

Personal interests: Travelling, swimming and football

Professional profile:

Mr Housein Hayali graduated from medical school in 1989 at the University of Baghdad, Iraq and in 1999 at the Medical University Utrecht, Netherlands. He completed his speciality training in ophthalmology in 2007 and has a special interest in medical retina, cataracts and oculoplasty.

Mr Hayali joined Practice Plus Group as a Consultant Ophthalmologist in 2019, working for both Practice Plus Group Hospital, Ilford and Practice Plus Group Surgical Centre, Gillingham. Passionate about ophthalmology, Mr Hayali is a member of the North of England Ophthalmological Society and frequently travellers to Ghana to help treat patients with glaucoma and cataracts.

Membership of professional, national or regional bodies:

Dutch Ophthalmologists

North of England Ophthalmological Society

Iraqi Doctors

Name: Mr Sokratis Zormpas

Job title: Consultant Ophthalmologist

GMC number: 7218134

Specialty: Ophthalmology

Special interests: Cataract, minimally invasive glaucoma surgery, retinal pathologies, laser treatments

Years of first medical qualifications: 2011

Year of becoming a specialist: 2017

Year of joining Practice Plus Group: 2020

Languages spoken: English, Greek

Personal interests: Running, swimming

Professional profile:

Mr Sokratis Zormpas graduated from Semmelweis University (MD – Budapest, Hungary) in 2011. He completed his ophthalmology training in 2017. Following this he undertook glaucoma training in London and Cambridge where he contributed to several glaucoma-related research projects, improving the treatment options available for the patients.

Mr Zormpas joined Practice Plus Group Surgical Centre, Gillingham in 2020. He enjoys training junior doctors in cataract and glaucoma surgery. He regularly presents his work at national and international conferences.

Membership of professional, national or regional bodies:

General Medical Council

European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery

European Board of Ophthalmology

Athens Medical Association

Mr Rahij Anwar (FRCS, Diploma, MSc, MRCS and MS) joined Care UK as a Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon in September 2018, working for both Practice Plus Group Surgical Centre, Ilford and Practice Plus Group Urgent Treatment Centre, Gillingham. Mr Anwar has worked in healthcare for over 25 years with 5 years as an NHS consultant in the UK. Mr Anwar is also the Clinical Lead for Orthopaedics at both Practice Plus Group Surgical Centre, Ilford and Practice Plus Group Urgent Treatment Centre, Gillingham.

Mr Rahij Anwar is a lower limb surgeon. Mr Anwar has a special interest in hip and knee replacements and knee sports surgery, including ACL and patellofemoral issues. He also performs general orthopaedic procedures including operations on bunion, toes etc.

Before joining Practice Plus Group, Mr Anwar worked as a locum consultant for over two years in many NHS hospitals before joining as a substantive consultant orthopaedic surgeon in Pilgrim Hospital, Boston (Lincolnshire), completing in the South East Thames (St Thomas & King’s College) rotation in 2012.

Besides publishing research articles in the peer-reviewed journals, Mr Anwar has also authored three textbooks whilst being a regular columnist for the BMA New magazine for the past 10 years. Mr Anwar is also a member of three major professional organisations, the British Orthopaedic Association, the British Medical Association and the Medical Protection Society.

Mr Anwar is extremely passionate about patient care, professional and personal development and learning from reflection, whilst in his spare time he loves travelling and spending time with his wife and children.

Name: Ms Fatemeh Zavareh

Job title: Anaesthetic Lead and Consultant Anaesthetist

GMC number: 6123686

Specialty: Anaesthetist

Special interests: Regional anaesthetics

Years of first medical qualifications: 1993

Year of becoming a specialist: 2006

Year of joining Practice Plus Group: 2016

Languages spoken: English

Personal interests: Reading, walking, swimming

Professional profile:

Ms Fatemeh Hani has been worked as an anaesthetist for over 25 years. Fatemeh performs all types of anaesthetics for all required surgical fields such as general surgery, eye surgery, orthopaedics, endoscopy, shoulder surgery, ENT, gynaecology and urology.

Ms Hani completed her medical education at the faculty of medicine at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark. She also completed her anaesthetic speciality and became a consultant anaesthetist from the same university.

Membership of professional, national or regional bodies:

Royal College of Anaesthetists

Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland

British Medical Association

Medical Protection Society

Name: Ms Erika Birgiolaite

Job title: Consultant General Surgeon

GMC number: 7728930

Specialty: General surgery

Special interests: Laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair, gallbladder diseases, anorectal diseases.

Years of first medical qualifications: 2014

Year of becoming a specialist: 2019

Year of joining Practice Plus Group: 2020

Languages spoken: English, Lithuanian, Russian

Personal interests: History, hiking

Professional profile:

Ms Erika Birgiolaite qualified at Lithuanian University of Health Sciences in 2014. She undertook surgical training in LUHS hospital Kauno Klinikos which she completed in 2019. Major focus of her training was inflammatory bowel disease and laparoscopic colorectal and abdominal surgery. In addition she attended surgical training course in Davos Switzerland and EAES laparoscopic surgery safety course.

After her training Ms Birgiolaite worked as a consultant general surgeon in a regional hospital, where she focused on urgent and trauma surgery, laparoscopic and open hernia repair and anorectal diseases.

Membership of professional, national or regional bodies:

European Hernia Society

European Society of Coloproctology

Medhat has been a consultant anaesthetist since 2002. His outstanding academic record speaks for itself.

He has double fellowships from both the Royal College of Anaesthetists (London) and the College of Anaesthetists (Dublin) and an accreditation diploma in trans-oesophageal echocardiography (France).

He defended his MD (PhD equivalent) thesis while being a research fellow in Leiden University (The Netherlands).

As a perioperative physician, Medhat is striving to improve the quality of peri-operative patient care.

He is keen to publish our data and set it as a benchmark for comparison against other national and international institutions.

He is especially interested in looking after high risk patients and the use of ultrasound to improve the quality of postoperative pain relief.

Dominika Palcovicova has been a Consultant Anaesthetist working across both the Practice Plus Group Urgent Treatment Centre, Gillingham and Practice Plus Group Surgical Centre, Ilford sites since November 2015.

With twenty years’ healthcare experience, Dominika is a Doctor of General medicine as well holding a diploma in anaesthetics and Intensive care medicine from Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovakia. In 2014, Dominika received a specialist diploma in Anaesthetics and Intensive care medicine from the Slovak medical University. Dominika is also a member of 3 professional bodies, namely RCA, AAGBI and the Slovak Medical Chamber.

Dominika’s core responsibilities are to oversee the provision of anaesthetic services at both treatment centres, whilst also looking after the pain management of patients in the post anaesthetic recovery unit. Dominika is also the anaesthetic clinical governance lead for Will Adams.

Dominika is extremely passionate about patient safety, improving the patient’s pathway, experience and analgesia.

Outside of work, Dominika enjoys a wide range of leisure activities. From outdoor hobbies like Mountain Hiking, cycling, skiing and swimming to taking time in cultural activities, enjoying classical music, art and opera. However, spending quality time with her family is the most important to her.

Goran is an experienced and highly educated anaesthetist. He first qualified in 1981 at the University of Zagreb in Croatia, and since then, alongside his career in anaesthetics, he has completed a Master’s Degree (MSc) in Clinical Pharmacology (1989), and a PhD in ‘Anaesthesia with combination of opioids’ (1994).

Upon moving to the UK in 1999, Goran completed 8 years of training at Barts and the London School of Anaesthesia to qualify as a Consultant Anaesthetist. He became a Fellow of the Royal College of Anaesthetists in 2004, and joined the Specialist Register of GMC in 2008, which is when he joined Practice Plus Group at the Practice Plus Group Surgical Centre, Ilford.

Goran has a particular interest in regional anaesthesia (local anaesthetic) and strives to ensure that patients experience as little pain as possible following surgery. He is continuously developing his skills, and in 2012, he was awarded the European Diploma in Regional Anaesthesia (EDRA).

Outside of work, Goran enjoys playing basketball

Jeevani Jayawardene has been a Consultant Anaesthetist at the North East London NHS Treatment Centre since January 2007, and is our current Obesity Lead.

With twenty five years of healthcare experience, Jeevani holds MBBS, MD and FRCA qualifications, as well as being a member of three professional bodies, namely, MDU, RCOA and AAGBI.

Jeevani received a gold medal during her MD in her native Sri Lanka and when she’s not at work she’s an active member of a charity organisation which sets up scholarship funds for students in Sri Lanka.

Dr. Zaneta has worked as an anaesthetist for over 10 years and joined the North East London NHS Treatment Centre team in November 2015. She was educated at Vilnius University (Faculty of Medicine) in Lithuania and went on to have speciality training which she completed in 2009 giving GMC Specialist registration in November 2009. Dr. Zaneta has also been part of the Royal College of Anaesthetists since 2012, the Difficult Airway Society, the AAGBI and the MDU.

As a consultant anaesthetist, Dr. Zaneta performs anaesthetics for all required surgical fields such as general, eye surgery, orthopaedics, dental, endoscopy, as well as providing pre-assessment clinic services. She is also a member of the antibiotic stewardship committee.

Dr. Zaneta is interested in pre-assessment and optimisations of high risk non-cardiac surgical patients as well as patient safety and human factors in perioperative care. Dr. Zaneta’s other area of interest is the difficult airway.

Previously Dr.  Zaneta has had roles within obstetrics & gynaecology, urology, ENT, neuro-anaesthesia, trauma, emergency, other specialities of anaesthesia and ITU.

Outside of work, Dr. Zaneta loves travelling and exploring new cultures.

Gabor has worked as a consultant gastroenterologist for 24 years and joined the Practice Plus Group Urgent Treatment Centre, Gillingham team in August 2015. Gabor was educated at Semmelweis Medical School in Budapest, Hungary and worked as a gastroenterologist in two hospitals in the Hungarian capital before moving to the UK in 2003. Gabor completed his post-graduate training at the Danbury Hospital in Connecticut USA, as well as in various hospitals within Hungary.

Gabor’s love for gastroenterology has seen him show a special interest for endoscopy both OGD and colonoscopy, inflammatory bowel disease and gastro-oesophageal reflux disease. He is ultimately most passionate about patient care.

In his spare time Gabor likes reading fiction and history books. He also likes to keep fit via jogging, cycling and swimming. Gabor also looks forward to the day his son will be strong enough for his son to go hiking with him

Mr Mohamed is a consultant general surgeon with a special interest in vascular surgery and was appointed as a consultant in 2006. He qualified from the Middlesex Hospital Medical School, University of London in 1986 and became a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh in 1991.

He undertook postgraduate surgical training in London and the South East of England, rotating through 3 major London teaching hospitals (St. Thomas’, King’s College and Guys Hospitals) as well as large and busy peripheral hospitals such as Medway Maritime, Maidstone, and Kent and Canterbury Hospitals.

In addition to his clinical practice Mr Mohamed is actively engaged in the teaching and training of undergraduate medical students, postgraduate surgical trainees and allied health professionals.

He has published several learned articles in peer reviewed journals and gives regular lectures and presentations to students and trainees. He is also an examiner in surgery for the University of London.

Mr Onyema is a Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon at Practice Plus Group Urgent Treatment Centre, Gillingham. His areas of interest include: cataract surgery, glaucoma treatment (with a focus on primary care development and electronic integration with secondary care) and oculo-plastic surgery.

Ophthalmology Training

South East Region including Clinical Glaucoma Service Fellowship at Moorfields Eye Hospital London.

Other Activities

Medical Liaison Officer, Royal Medical Benevolence Fund

Trustee, Harlow Citizens Advice Bureau

UK representative, GEANCO Foundation

Previous consultant level posts

Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford and Braintree Community Hospital

Professional associations

Member of the Royal College of Ophthalmologists, London

Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons, Edinburgh

Member of the American Academy of Ophthalmology

Member of the British Medical Association

Member of the Medical Defence Union