At Highlands Healthcare, we focus on improving the long-term health of our patients.
At Highlands Healthcare we want the absolute best outcomes and experience for you. We strongly believe in patient choice and autonomy, ensuring we fully inform patients about options and risks, while helping guide you to a decision that respects your lived experience. Our team believe strongly in giving patients a chance to have their story heard, while supporting patients in making their own decisions about their healthcare.
Our Team
Dr Sean Heinz
Obstetrician, Gynaecologist and Advanced Laparoscopic Surgeon
Sean finished his medical degree at the University of Notre Dame in Sydney and completed his fellowship with the Royal Australian College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists (RANZCOG).
He completed a minimally invasive surgical fellowship with the Australasian Gynaecological Endoscopy & Surgery Society (AGES) and a Masters of Advanced Gynaecological Surgery at Western Sydney University.
Sean is an Clinical Senior Lecturer at the University of Sydney. He teaches training obstetrician and gynaecologists as well as medical students. Sean also works with Doctors Without Borders (MSF) and Doctors Assisting in South Pacific Islands (DAISI) with recent time spent in Kenya, PNG, Vanuatu, and the Solomon Islands.
As a doctor who has spent time in high acuity and low-resource settings, he has a calm and reassuring presence which shapes all aspects of the care he provides for women across various stages of their lives. Based in Sale Street, he also has appointments at Ramsay Surgical Centre Orange, Dudley Private Hospital and Orange Base Hospital.
Dr Dhivya Thangavel
Obstetrician, Gynaecologist and Advanced Laparoscopic Surgeon
Dhivya gained her specialist qualifications through the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RANZCOG) and the Australasian Gynaecological Endoscopy & Surgery Society (AGES).
She completed her medical degree at the University of Newcastle, underwent core training in Westmead Hospital, the busiest birthing unit in the state of New South Wales followed by subsequent advanced training in urogynaecology research in Townsville, QLD and an AGES accredited advanced gynaecological laparoscopy fellowship in Blacktown, NSW.
She is also involved with medical student and registrar teaching and is a Lecturer at Western Sydney University. In 2021 she was a recipient of the Avant Foundation’s Early Career Research Program Grant for her research on prevention of recurrent Urinary Tract Infections in postmenopausal women. She completed a Masters in Surgery (Advanced Gynaecological Surgery) at Western Sydney University in 2023.
Dhivya is especially interested in health provision in low-resource settings and is committed to women in rural and developing communities. She is involved with Doctors Assisting In the South Pacific Islands with regular aid trips to the Solomon Islands.
She utilises her experience and training in obstetrics and gynaecology to pursue her interests in highrisk obstetrics, gynaecological laparoscopy, and pelvic floor disorders. She is a caring and skilled clinician and strongly believes in shared decision-making.
Dhivya is a VMO Obstetrician & Gynaecologist at Orange Health Service, Dudley Private Hospital and Ramsay Surgical Centre. Dhivya sees both obstetric and gynaecology patients privately at Highlands Healthcare.
Dr Claire Noonan
GP Psychotherapist
Dr Claire Noonan is a general practitioner who has specific training in psychotherapy.
Claire has years of experience as a family doctor which sparked an interest in human psychology. From this, Claire has trained as a registered provider of focussed psychological strategies to offer Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Dialectical Behaviour Therapy.
Claire can guide you to align your life with your deeper values, assist in creating healing by learning to encompass your emotions, assist in the art of skillful communication with others and guide you to change your thinking to shift your psychological outlook, bettering your overall wellbeing.
Appointments with Claire can be either one-on-one support or group sessions for family members and friends to attend. Claire can support you throughout your pregnancy as well as post-partum.
Dr Joanne Lawrence-Bourne
Clinical Psychologist Psychotherapist
Dr Joanne Lawrence-Bourne is a Clinical Psychologist specialising in reproductive fertility and general psychotherapy.
At Highlands Healthcare, Joanne provides psychological support for obstetric and gynaecological related concerns that affect you, your partner, and your family – including fertility issues, distress undertaking IVF, navigating a healthy pregnancy, pregnancy and birth complications, birth trauma, terminations, chronic pelvic pain, endometriosis, menopause – which may result in depression, anxiety, distress, feelings of grief and loss, and compound pre-existing mental health issues, and/or create difficulties in adjusting to life transitions, life stages and relationships. Many of these issues concern all people, not only women.
Joanne is an inclusive psychologist, calm, compassionate, effective, and practical. She creates an environment that feels safe to entrust your concerns. Life isn’t always straight forward. Sometimes we need additional support.
Joanne tailors her psychotherapy to your specific needs, drawing from a range of modalities including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Therapy (DBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Schema Therapy, Transactional Analysis, Psychodynamic and Self-Psychology. These therapeutic frameworks help to work through your issues, develop strategies and move forward.
Supporting Joanne’s professional experience are a Master of Midwifery (MMid), Bachelor of Social Science in Psychology with Honours (BSScPsychHons1), Master of Clinical Psychology (MClinPsych), and a PhD in male childlessness. Joanne has completed the Fertility Society of Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ) Start-up training in Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART).
Emily Sutherland
Physiotherapist
Emily Sutherland completed her Bachelor of Physiotherapy at Australian Catholic University in Sydney.
Emily worked at Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney before moving to Orange where she works in private practice. Emily is passionate about providing accessible and destigmatised quality care for women, with advanced training in management of pelvic floor dysfunction.
Emily can support you to optimise your pelvic floor function throughout your gynaecological or pregnancy journey.
Libby Morgan
Midwife
Cassie Neilsen
Practice Manager
Sustainable Practices
Running a stainable business is important to us. These are just a few of the ways Highlands Healthcare are implementing sustainable practices:
- Solar panels provide the majority of our electricity, with the main business hours being during the daylight.
- Wherever possible we use electronic communication with patients. Using email to provide forms to be completed electronically.
- Wherever possible correspondence with other businesses is by email or fax from computer.
- We have recyclables bins throughout the practice for staff use.
- Where paper is used it is then recycled using a secure document destruction company.
- Paper that can be re-used without breaching confidentiality is used as scrap paper for office use.
- Correspondence between staff is by electronic notes.
- All data is backed-up to a secure cloud services to reduce paper consumption.
- Printer cartridges are recycled locally.
- Unused or out of stock medical supplies are used for training purposes by practitioners.
- Medical supplies are ordered in bulk to reduce wastage of packaging, and delivery services.
