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Respiratory Specialists

Respiratory Care WA works with an amazing team of Paediatric Respiratory Specialists and Adult Respiratory Specialists to provide community-based specialist support at our Respiratory Hubs.

Their dedication to our services and ongoing support in providing free specialised services continues to make a huge impact on the lives of Western Australians living with respiratory conditions.

Our Respiratory Specialists:

Dr Alice Crawford MBBS, FRACP

Adult Respiratory Specialist

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Dr Alice Crawford is a consultant respiratory physician with expertise in asthma and related conditions. At Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Dr Crawford works in the Airways team assessing suitability for severe asthma biologics and advanced therapies, and also leads an undifferentiated breathlessness multidisciplinary clinic. She is undertaking a PhD at Curtin University where she is developing a community decision support tool to help identify potential causes of undifferentiated breathlessness early. Dr Crawford works with local and national research collaborators via the Institute for Respiratory Health (IRH), Busselton Population Medical Research Institute (BPMRI), and Curtin University.

Dr Crawford will provide an initial asthma assessment, bulk-billed through Respiratory Care WA. The service will assess asthma and airways severity, exacerbation prevention, treatable traits and drivers of disease, and suggestions in optimising therapy.

If you are interested in learning more about current respiratory research opportunities, please contact: [email protected]

Dr Richard Tarala

Dr Richard Tarala

Adult Respiratory Specialist

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Dr Richard Tarala trained as a doctor at Edinburgh University and worked in the UK and the USA before moving to Australia to join the Medical School of the University of Western Australia. Richard then relocated to Royal Perth Hospital where he continues to practise as a consultant respiratory physician, now on a part-time basis. Until 2022, he was a Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of Western Australia. In addition to clinical service Richard played a key role in designing and establishing training and support regimes for Junior Doctors. Richard has been a long-term supporter of the Asthma Foundation, of which he was previously a Board Member and Secretary of the Medical and Scientific Advisory Committee.

Dr Allison Carroll

Paediatric Respiratory Specialist

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Dr. Carroll has extensive international training and experience in Paediatric Respiratory Medicine. Originally from Canada, she has Canadian Royal College certifications in General Paediatrics, Paediatric Critical Care and Paediatric Respirology. She practiced as an Assistant Professor in Paediatric Respirology at the University of Alberta prior to moving to Australia, specializing in complex paediatric respiratory diseases and lung transplant, and leading their medical education programs. She practiced Paediatric Respiratory Medicine at Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne, from 2022-2024. She has recently completed a Master of Public Health in evaluation and implementation science at the University of Melbourne, evaluating clinical delivery of a complex national program.

Dr. Carroll has a long-standing commitment to child and family-centred care, ensuring that clinical interactions are child-focused and families are involved in decision making. She ensures that clinical information is understood by the family and a clear treatment plan is in place, using multidisciplinary teams as necessary. As a mother to two young children, one with asthma, she understands the practical challenges that children and families face with respiratory concerns.

Dr Carroll has special interests in seeing patients with asthma and pre-school wheeze, chronic cough and bronchitis, unexplained shortness of breath, chronic lung disease of prematurity and complex paediatric respiratory disorders (bronchiectasis, aerodigestive disorders).

Dr Stephen Oo

Paediatric Respiratory and Sleep Specialist

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Dr Stephen Oo is a Paediatric Respiratory and Sleep Physician who works at Perth Children’s Hospital, Fiona Stanley Hospital and Respiratory Care WA’s Children’s Respiratory Hub, where he aims to offer comprehensive evaluation and care for children with respiratory and sleep difficulties.

A Perth local, Dr Oo obtained his medical degree from the University Western Australia in 2005 and is a Fellow of the Royal Australian College of Physicians.

Dr Oo has three young children of his own and is sensitive to the needs and stresses of young families. He has a special interest in childhood wheezing and has published and presented at numerous national and international conferences on this subject. He continues to be involved in a number of national and state health committees with the aim of improving healthcare for WA children with asthma and wheeze.