Access advanced pain management: Beyond Radiology
For those living with persistent neck, back, or joint pain, advanced imaging and specialist pain procedures are now more easily available to people in Canterbury.
In healthcare, trust is built over time, through consistency, expertise, and a genuine commitment to caring for people. By showing up for your community, day after day.
For three years in Canterbury, Beyond Radiology has done exactly that. While healthcare costs continue to climb nationwide, they’ve made a deliberate choice: keep ACC surcharges steady at just $20 for X-rays and $40 for ultrasounds. No increases because essential diagnostic imaging should be accessible to Cantabrians, just as it is across the country.
Affordability is only half the story. As Beyond Radiology has grown to five locations nationwide, it has also strengthened its specialist team. This January marked the return of consultant radiologist Dr Kael Baker, who has come home to New Zealand with his young family after several years in Australia.
Australasian-trained, Kael completed a science degree at Otago University, medical training at Flinders University in Adelaide, and radiology training in Auckland. A dedicated musculoskeletal fellowship with QScan Brisbane in 2022 sharpened his subspecialty expertise, followed by three years on the Gold Coast. There, imaging elite NRL and AFL athletes was routine, alongside developing a strong procedural focus. He became one of the leading radiologists performing radiofrequency ablation (RFA) within the QScan network.
Now back in the South Island, Kael, alongside several of his Beyond Radiology colleagues, is expanding local access to advanced pain management procedures, including both spinal and non-spinal radiofrequency ablation (RFA).” This emerging specialised interventional procedure uses unique needles with an electrical current to heat a targeted nerve, which subsequently decreases pain signals from the affected area,” Kael says.
“For patients living with persistent neck, back, or joint pain, RFA can offer another pathway when conservative treatments are failing, or surgery is hoped to be avoided or delayed.”
These procedures are specialist-referred and carefully assessed, ensuring patients are appropriate candidates before treatment proceeds. Delivering RFA locally means Canterbury patients can access advanced interventional pain management without leaving the region.
Kael’s return strengthens a clinician-led, community-focused service that pairs world-class technology and experience with everyday accessibility. As Beyond Radiology continues to grow, its focus remains the same: affordable imaging, specialist expertise, and patient-centred care delivered with integrity.
Meet the team at 225 Papanui Road in Merivale, or at the Strowan location within Dudley Creek Health, call 03 964 7459, learn more or book online at the website.
