Helen is an orthopaedic surgeon who specialises in hip and knee replacements. Her initial work focused on trauma, and she was an instructor and later a director teaching trauma management for the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS). Helen was also on the New Zealand Trauma Committee; the RACS Trauma Committee; the national board of RACS; and she has been an examiner for RACS since 2015.
She was the clinical Head of Department at Hutt Hospital from 2013 to 2017. Since 2016 she has been part of a multidisciplinary committee for ACC, helping with complex cases. Helen is currently a trustee for both the Wishbone Trust (which fundraises for orthopaedic research) and the Hip Fracture Trust.