Willis Medical is a general practice clinic in the Wellington CBD, continuing a medical tradition on Willis Street that traces back to the early 1930s. Though the Willis Medical name is new — adopted after a change of practice ownership in early 2024 — the team has been treating patients from 191a Willis Street for many years, previously under the City GPs name.
The practice is owned by Drs Tim McLeod, Monika Vieregg and Tony Jenks, who each took over from retiring GPs over the past decade: Dr McLeod from Dr Chris Kalderimis (who started his practice in 1979), Dr Jenks from Dr Tim Cookson (started 1987), and Dr Vieregg from Dr Tony McNaughton. The wider team has also included respected long-time GPs Dr Sarah Sawrey, Dr Lesley Rothwell and Dr Clare O'Brien.
Willis Medical offers a full range of GP and nursing services, including vaccinations, sexual health and contraception, minor surgery, travel medicine, skin checks and dermoscopy, and virtual/telehealth consultations, supported by a dedicated Health Improvement Practitioner. The practice is currently enrolling new patients and recently launched Tō Mai, its own patient portal.
Willis Medical may be a new name, but it represents one of Wellington's longest-running medical practices, operating from 191a Willis Street — a stretch of the city once considered Wellington's answer to London's Harley Street, historically home to doctors' houses, consulting rooms and hospitals.
The practice's roots trace back to the early 1930s, when a doctors' clinic was first established in Lower Boulcott Street. It relocated to Invincible House in 1959 before finally settling into its current Willis Street premises in 1985. Over the following decades, a succession of respected GPs built the practice — Dr Chris Kalderimis started his own practice there in 1979, later handing it to Dr Tim McLeod in 2014; Dr Tim Cookson started his in 1987, later passed to Dr Tony Jenks in 2018; and Dr Tony McNaughton's practice was taken over by Dr Monika Vieregg in 2020 after she'd worked there as an associate for several years. The team has also included long-standing, now-retired GPs Dr Sarah Sawrey, Dr Lesley Rothwell and Dr Clare O'Brien.
A change in business structure in early 2024 meant the practice, formerly known as City GPs, needed a new name — and Willis Medical, honouring the street's medical heritage, was the natural choice.
Willis Medical is owned by Drs Tim McLeod, Monika Vieregg and Tony Jenks, joined by associate GPs Dr Sabine Stanley (with the practice since 2007), Dr Michelle Mullin, Dr Roza Brajkovich-Payne, Dr Sarah Blair, and Dr Zoe Hutton, who moved from Australia in 2025 and has a particular interest in women's health, including IUD insertion and removal. The nursing team includes Helen, Netta, Jazz, Sam and Janisha, alongside Erin, the practice's Health Improvement Practitioner. A long-standing admin team — Lily, Ann, Jo and Susan — keeps the practice running day to day.
Willis Medical offers a broad spread of GP and nursing services: vaccinations for children and adults, winter wellness checks, driver's licence medicals, diabetes consultations, travel medicine, minor surgery, sexual health and contraception (including Depo Provera, Jadelle, and Mirena/Copper IUD), smoking cessation support, ear wax removal by microsuction, skin checks with dermoscopy, cryotherapy and electrosurgery, healthcare screening, and home visits. Nursing services extend to aclasta and ferinject infusions, B12 injections, blood pressure monitoring, ECG and spirometry. The clinic also offers virtual health services, including telehealth and video consultations, for patients who can't make it in.
Facilities include a child-friendly waiting room with a breastfeeding area, baby changing facilities, and an accessible toilet.
Willis Medical recently introduced Tō Mai, a new patient portal whose name — meaning "to pull towards me" — reflects the practice's goal of helping patients stay connected with their health information and care team. With the practice's centenary on Willis Street approaching, the team says it is mindful of honouring its heritage while looking to the future.
The practice is currently enrolling new patients, and can be reached by phone or email, with reception open Monday to Friday from 8am to 5pm (phone lines close at 4.30pm).