The Hand and Wrist Centre was founded in 2015, with Dr Timms, Orthopaedic Hand and Wrist Surgeon, Mr Tom Sharpe, Orthopaedic Surgeon and Hand Therapists Craig Hawkyard.
The centre provides a full range of hand therapy and rehabilitation, hand and wrist orthopaedic services including consultations, surgery and post operative care.
Surgerys are performed in our day theatre located at our offices or Southern Cross Hospital next door.
Orthopaedic Hand And Wrist Surgeon
Dr. Fiona Timms
Fiona was born and raised in Dunedin. She graduated from University of Otago Medical School in 1992 and began her formal surgical training in 1998. She became a fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons in 2001 before completing further subspecialist training in Toronto, Vancouver and Sydney. She worked as a consultant orthopaedic surgeon at the hand unit at Middlemore Hospital in Auckland and then North Shore Hospital 2003-2005. In 2005 Fiona moved to Christchurch to work.
Orthopaedic Upper Limb Surgeon
Mr. Tom Sharpe
Tom grew up in Scotland and graduated from Glasglow University in 1996. He came to NZ in 1998 and completed the NZ Orthopaedic training programme in 2007 became fellow of NZOA in 2008. He completed fellowship in Hand and Upper Limb in orthopaedics in Edinburgh and Adelaide and started work in Christchurch as a full time orthopaedic surgeon in 2010. He is an orthopaedic surgeon with an interest in wrist, hand and upper limb surgery but also does trauma surgery, hip and knee arthroplasty.
Craig Hawkyard
Craig graduated from The University of Otago Physiotherapy program in 1997. His interest in Hand Therapy grew from a placement in the Hand Unit at Christchurch Hospital, where he worked for the first two years of his career. After working in the UK from 2000-2004 he returned to New Zealand and has been working in Christchurch as a Hand Therapist since – becoming a New Zealand Registered Hand Therapist in 2006.
Leigh Law
Leigh has been working with the Merivale Hand Clinic team since 2007 and gained Hand Therapy Registration in 2009.
Leigh has always held an interest in hand injuries and rehabilitation after graduating as an Occupational Therapist from Queen's College, Glasgow in 1991. Since then she has gained experience in a variety of areas including Rheumatology, Orthopaedics and Paediatrics, all of which have included some element of hand therapy.
Leigh is based in the Kaiapoi Hand Clinic and covers all aspects of hand therapy including post surgical rehabilitation for the North Canterbury region.
