Dr Sara Whimster
Sara Whimster is the President of the St George Division of General Practice and a dedicated GP who has lived and worked in the St George area for the past 16 years. She is deeply committed to supporting fellow GPs in delivering high-quality, up-to-date, and holistic care to their communities.
With a special interest in women’s and children’s health, Sara currently practices at Riverwood Medical, where she combines clinical expertise with compassionate care. She also serves as the Chairperson of the St George and Sutherland ANSC Committee and facilitates the Hurstville and Lugarno PGLs, playing an active role in professional development and peer support for local GPs.
Sara is a strong advocate for primary health care, championing its voice through meaningful collaboration with local health providers and health networks. Her leadership reflects a passion for improving systems of care and ensuring community needs are met with empathy and excellence.
Outside of work, Sara enjoys spending time with her children and grandchildren, supporting her family as a proud dance and soccer mum, and staying involved in her church community.
Dr Tarun Chauhan
Tarun Chauhan has served the Riverwood Community as a practice owner of Caritas Medical Centre since 2006 when he took over his mother’s general practice. His long association with the division began as a medical student. He has served in various roles on the division executive since 2015 including as Treasurer and Secretary and on CESPHN Committees including Health Pathways, Urgent Care Clinics and most recently the Clinical Leaders forum.
His passion for the future of General Practice finds expression as a mentor for Medical Students and GP registrars since 2019 and as a facilitator for the Division’s flagship educational initiative in peer group learning for a number of years. General Practice advocacy continues to inspire his efforts in communications with St George Hospital to improve the efficiency of patient access to care and he remains infamous for his curly trivia questions at the bespoke collegial AGM extravaganza held by the Division.
Dr Sanjay Zanak
Sanjay Zanak was born and brought up in India. He graduated from Byramjee Jeejeebhoy Medical College in Pune, India, in 1993. After completing a year‑long internship, he pursued postgraduate studies and earned his Master’s degree in ENT from Sassoon General Hospital, Pune, in 1997. Following this, he spent 18 months at Jaslok Hospital in Mumbai as a Clinical Associate in ENT before travelling overseas. He worked for five years as a Medical Officer in ENT with the Ministry of Health in the Sultanate of Oman, an experience that offered him a deep appreciation for Arabic culture and hospitality, memories he continues to treasure.
In 2005, he moved with his family to Wellington, New Zealand, where he soon became a father. He cherished those early years with his daughter, who is now graduating from university. Living in New Zealand provided yet another cultural immersion, surrounded by picturesque greenery and a beautiful coastline. In 2007, he relocated to Sydney, Australia, which he fondly considers the best part of the world. After clearing the AMC exams, he worked at St George and Liverpool Hospitals as a Surgical and ENT Registrar from 2009 to 2015. After several exhilarating experiences, he decided it was time to reassess his career path and transitioned into General Practice, completing his Fellowship in 2018.
He often reflects, “GP has opened up vast horizons for me in terms of balance with family life, spirituality, and academics. Over these years, building a patient base has been rewarding.” He enjoys the diverse case mix across age groups, the complexity of presentations and the many undifferentiated conditions that make general practice both challenging and fulfilling.