Dr Padmini Howpage

About

Dr Howpage is the Director of Clinical Services at both Carlingford and Norwest Specialist Practice (CNSP). She has established a unique mental health service that consists of multidisciplinary team care in the community. Her shared care programs in the community with GPs, community mental health services and the residential aged care services are well received by the service recipients for its quality standard of care. She is widely experienced in all mental health matters across all age groups and has a special interest in the area of Medico-legal and old age psychiatry. She works as a staff specialist at Macquarie Hospital, Northern Sydney & Central Coast Area Health Service and as a VMO psychiatrist in Wagga Wagga, Greater Southern Area Health Service. She is a conjoint lecturer at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Western Sydney and also leads the medical students’ education program at CNSP. Her annual GP seminar series is very popular amongst local GPs. She is proactive in community education and in 2011 established the annual mental health community event “5000- steps – One step at a time�?. With the leaders of the community, she has established The Hills Mental Health inc. with the aim of rallying local mental health service providers, consumer and carer groups. She is the elected co-president of the organisation.

Under her leadership CNSP provides web based video Telehealth services to rural, non metropolitan and remote areas. She is bilingual and proficient in Sinhalese (Sri Lankan) dialect.