Dr Bernard Chin is a Specialist Gastroenterologist and Hepatologist with an interest in bowel cancer screening and prevention.
Dr Chin graduated from the University of Adelaide in 1999 and obtained his Fellowship of the Australian College of Physicians (FRACP) in 2007. He trained in the then cutting edge techniques of Endoscopic Ultrasound (EUS), Double Balloon Enteroscopy (DBE) and Wireless Capsule Endoscopy (WCE or “Pill Cam”), whilst undergoing his advanced training in Gastroenterology at St George, Bankstown and Liverpool Hospitals in Sydney.
Dr Chin developed a passion for rural and regional medicine during his training and moved his family to Far North Queensland (FNQ) to found Cairns Gastroenterology in 2007, which still remains today as the only private gastroenterology practice with specialists providing tgastroenterological services. He contributed to the public health sector as a part-time specialist at Cairns Base Hospital for a decade between 2007 and 2017, looking after acutely ill rural and Indigenous patients.
Dr Chin pioneered the treatment of Abdominal Cutaneous Nerve Entrapment Syndrome (ACNES), the most common and intractable cause of non-surgical abdominal wall pain.
Dr Chin has contributed to the teaching of a generation of 1st year Gastroenterology Advanced Trainees at Cairns Base Hospital. At least 2 of these doctors have returned to FNQ to work as Gastroenterologists in the public and private sector due to their positive training experiences. Dr Chin is an official spokesperson for Bowel Cancer Australia, helping to spread the word about bowel cancer prevention.
Cairns Gastroenterology now provides access to tertiary levels of GI services such as EUS, ERCP, oesophageal manometry and pH (through Cairns Hospital), and wireless capsule endoscopy through their Gastroenterologists who specialise in various areas of Gastroenterology. Cairns Gastroenterology also provides private outreach endoscopy services in Innisfail and the Tablelands, in addition to Telehealth consultations to rural patients.
Dr Chin operates at both Cairns Private Hospital and Ramsay Surgical Centre Cairns.