Jean is a Neonatal and Perinatal Paediatrician.
His commitment is to provide high quality and nurturing care to newborns. He has a keen interest in the wellbeing and safety of newborn babies and is an expert in the management of babies with complex issues at birth and beyond. His initiative of monitoring the oxygen levels of babies for 2 hours after birth is now standard practice in most Western Australian maternity hospitals. https://ww2.health.wa.gov.au/News/Keeping-newborns-SAFE
Being the parent of an unsettled baby who is now a strapping adult, he empathises with parents who are in a similar situation. He endeavours to provide parents with up to date advice, support and information to help them navigate through concerns regarding their baby’s nutrition, growth, and development.
Jean moved to Perth with his family in 2003 to complete his Neonatal training at King Edward Memorial Hospital and Princess Margaret Hospital. He worked at PMH as a consultant and was closely involved in the setting up of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Fiona Stanley Hospital. He was appointed as the first Head of Neonatology at FSH.
He decided to join SJOG Murdoch Hospital in 2021.
He enjoys watching sport such as rugby union and cricket. He is a keen golfer when time permits. He loves going off road and camping in the outback with his family.
Qualifications
- Fellow Royal Australian College of Physicians. Paediatrics. 2008.
- Master of Health Professional Education (UWA) 2011.
- Diploma in Child Health (Otago) 2001.
- Leadership in Medicine certificate (Harvard) 2021.
- MBChB (Stellenbosch) 1986.
Current appointments
- Head of Neonatology. St John of God Murdoch Hospital
- Consultant Neonatologist. Fiona Stanley Hospital
Past appointments
- Head of Neonatology. Fiona Stanley Hospital
- Adjunct Associate Professor. University of Notre Dame
Professional Associations
- Royal Australasian College of Physicians
- Perinatal Society of Australia and New Zealand
- Australian Medical Society
Awards and achievements
- Top 8 capstone project Harvard Medical School 2021
- Paul Carmen Fellowship in cardiology. Princess Margaret Hospital for Children 2008
- Excellence Award. King Edward Memorial Hospital 2007
Publications
- Continuous pulse oximetry during skin-to-skin care: An Australian initiative to prevent sudden unexpected postnatal collapse. Du Plessis, J., et al. (2021). Acta Paediatr 110(4): 1166-1170.
- Amniotic band syndrome with pseudoarthrosis of tibia and fibula: A case report.
- Ananthan A, Athalye Jape G, Du Plessis J, Annear P, Page R, Rao S. Ir Med J. 2017 May 10;110(5):570
- Emergency use of a size 1 laryngeal mask airway in a ventilated neonate with an undiagnosed type IV laryngotracheo-oesophageal cleft. Philip Russell 1, Neil Chambers, Jean du Plessis, Shyan Vijayasekeran Paediatr Anaesth2008 Jul;18(7):658-62
Invited speaker and media
- 38th ASIA- PACIFIC Nursing and Medicare Summit OCTOBER 03-04, 2018 OSAKA, JAPAN
- 15th Euro Nursing & Medicare Summit October 17-19, 2016 Rome, Italy
- 15 December 2016 Keeping newborns SAFE.
- Cuff keeps newborns safe from suffocation.
