The majority of urinary stones pass spontaneously and can safely be managed with conservative measures including increasing fluids, appropriate pain medication and anti-spasm medication.

Patients seen in the community with suspected acute renal or ureteric colic (severe pain caused by kidney stones) should be referred to the Emergency Department at Southmead Hospital or Bristol Royal Infirmary.

9 December 2024

This is a one day course and will be run face to face at Southmead Hospital, Bristol. The course reviews urodynamics (UDS) quality and trace interpretation based on patient cases, and gives updates on urodynamic practice.

Intended delegates:  doctors, nurses and/or technicians who have previously attended a Bristol or other ‘approved’ urodynamic course, and who would like a refresher course. Delegates will be encouraged to submit their own urodynamic traces for discussion.

This course is recognized by the United Kingdom Continence Society (UKCS) for recertification in urodynamics.

Learning Points:

• revision of the basic physical principles behind UDS
• development of interpretation skills of urodynamic traces
• ability to recognise full range of artefacts seen during UDS, and the knowledge of how to correct them
• case based discussion of the role of UDS in investigating children, women, men and neurological patients

Course Director: Mr Andrew Gammie
Course Administrator: Karen Evely

For further information or to apply for the course please contact buicourses@nbt.nhs.uk

Current Research 

PROTEUS: Investigating the effect of Apalutamide in conjunction with androgen deprivation therapy (also known as ADT or Hormone Therapy) on results of radical prostatectomy surgery and time taken for prostate cancer to progress, in men with locally advanced prostate cancer.

About the Project
The purpose of this study is to see if Apalutamide either used alone or combined in tablet with abiraterone acetate and prednisone, plus androgen deprivation therapy (also known as hormone therapy/ADT), is safe and could improve the results of surgery and delay the time it takes for prostate cancer to spread to other parts of the body in patients with localised and locally advanced high-risk prostate cancer who are planned for radical prostatectomy (RP). All participants in this study will get Androgen Deprivation Therapy (ADT) prior and after the RP surgery. This treatment is not considered standard of care which means that it is a therapy that you normally would not receive outside of a clinical trial and it has not been proven to benefit patients. In this study, ADT is a gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) agonists. GnRH agonists are drugs that lower the production of androgens (male hormones) in your body. Prostate cancer cells usually require androgens, such as testosterone, to grow. You will be randomised into one of two treatment groups, both receiving ADT but only one receiving the study drug apalutamide.

MoonRISe-1 is a clinical research study of an investigational drug delivery system for adults with intermediate-risk non-muscle invasive bladder cancer.

The MoonRISe-1 study is evaluating an investigational drug delivery system called TAR-210.

Study doctors want to learn more about the effects of TAR-210 when it delivers controlled doses of an investigational medication (erdafitinib) into the bladder over approximately 12 weeks.

The TAR-210 is a small, flexible tube that is inserted into the bladder by a healthcare professional using a urinary catheter.

 TAR-210 is not approved for use by any regulatory authority and can only be used in research studies such as this one.

Suitability for this trial includes testing your bladder tumour for specific genetic alterations called fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR) alterations.

FGFR alterations can be a factor in tumour growth and whether the cancer spreads.

FGFR testing needs to be performed on a urine and/or tumour tissue sample collected at screening.

If your tumour has the required FGFR alterations, you may be eligible to participate in the MoonRISe-1 study.

If you are eligible for this study, you will be randomly assigned to either :

Group A: The investigational drug delivery system (TAR-210)
OR Standard of Care Chemotherapy (intravesical Mitomycin C)

CLIMATE:  A comparison of diagnostic accuracy of Luminal Index and Standard of Care MRI for Accelerated detection of significant prostate cancer 

This study is trying to establish if a scanning method called Luminal Index MRI (LI-MRI) might be able to be as good as the Standard of Care MRI (SOC-MRI). 

A LI-MRI scan takes only 5-10 minutes compared to up to 45 minutes needed for a SOC-MRI scan and it does not require the injection of dye to improve images. 

Most people that enter the study will have had a PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) blood test with a higher-than-normal reading.

Routinely, the next step would be to have a SOC-MRI scan of the prostate to investigate. 

Participants to the trial will have both types of MRI, the usual SOC-MRI plus the new LI-MRI in the same scan session.

The purpose of the MRI is to produce an image that your doctor examines to look for anything of concern that needs to be investigated further. 

If there is, the doctor would usually take samples of prostate tissue (biopsies) using a needle that would then be examined under a microscope to see if what was seen on the MRI image was cancer or caused by something else. 

TAPS 02:  Early stage prostate cancer can be managed by active surveillance, where patients are closely monitored. If the cancer reaches a certain stage (“progresses”) the patient can access curative treatment (such as surgery or radiotherapy). In the TAPS02 trial we are testing to see if we can slow down this chance of progression or maybe even stop it using short-term drug treatment.

The drug used is Apalutamide. It belongs to a group of drugs that work by blocking androgens (male hormones). By blocking the effect of androgens, apalutamide stops prostate cancer cells from growing and dividing. Doctors currently use apalutamide to treat men with non-metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (prostate cancer for which initial treatments have failed).

In the TAPS02 trial we are testing if short-term apalutamide might slow tumour growth and make it less likely for men on surveillance to progress and need treatment. Eligible participants are randomly selected to receive apalutamide or placebo and followed up accordingly with blood tests, health checks and imaging.

Trials in follow up

POUT:  Comparing peri-operative chemotherapy and surveillance in upper tract urothelial cancer.

RADICALS: Evaluating radiotherapy and androgen deprivation in combination after local surgery.

SORCE: Comparing Sorafenib with placebo in patients with resected primary renal cell carcinoma at high or intermediate risk of relapse.

PURE: Evaluating clinical effectiveness of surgical interventions  or stones in the lower pole of the kidney: percutaneous nephrolithotomy, flexible ureterorenoscopy and lithotripsy.

ADD-ASPIRIN:  assessing the effects of aspirin on disease recurrence and survival after primary therapy in common non-metastatic cancers.

UKGCPS: Identifying genes which suggest a predisposition to prostate cancer developing.

GMC Number: 4355807

Specialty: Gynaecology

GMC Number: 6055311

Year & location of first qualification: 2002 University of London (St Mary's)

Specialty: Anaesthesia

Clinical interests: Anaesthesia and Intensive care medicine

Secretary: Mrs Helen Pearce

Telephone number: 0117 414 5114

Dr Lorna Burrows qualified at St Marys Hospital, University of London. She trained in London, Bristol, Cambridge and Australia. She has been a consultant at North Bristol NHS Trust since 2015.

Dr Lorna Burrows is a member of MBBS BSc (Hons) MRCP FRCA FFICM
PG Dip (Medical management and leadership)

GMC Number: 6055129

Year of first qualification: 1998, Mysore University, India

Specialty: Obstetrics & Gynaecology

Clinical interests: Urinary Incontinence, Urodynamics, Pelvic Organ Prolapse, Pelvic Reconstructive Surgery and General Gynaecology.

Secretary: Emma Thompson

Telephone: 0117 414 6751

Mr Chendrimada Madhu is a Subspecialist Urogynaecologist and the lead for Urogynaecology at Southmead Hospital, Bristol. The unit has been recently accredited by the British Society of Urogynaecology (BSUG) for the high standards of care. He is also the lead for gynaecology risk management.

He did his training in obstetrics and gynaecology in the Yorkshire and the East of England Deaneries. He has completed the subspecialty training in Urogynaecology (RCOG accredited Fellowship in Urogynaecology) from the Severn and Peninsula Deaneries and was appointed as a consultant at North Bristol NHS Trust in 2015.

He is a member of the International Continence Society (ICS), British Society of Urogynaecologists (BSUG) and the International Urogynaecological Association (IUGA).

He has a special interest in medical education and was awarded an MA in Medical Education from the University of Bedfordshire. He is also a Fellow of the Higher Education academy.

GMC Number: 4518190

Year of first qualification: 1998, St Bartholomews & the Royal London School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of London

Specialty: Urology

Clinical interests: Urinary Incontinence, Nocturia, Overactive Bladder Syndrome, Benign Prostate Enlargement and Benign Prostate Diseases, Neuro-urology, Pelvic Organ Prolapse, Urodynamics, Pelvic Reconstruction, General Urology

Secretary: Ann Howie

Telephone: 01174145008>

Prof. Hashim is a world-renowned Functional Urological Surgeon and Honorary Professor of Urology. He is one of a handful of surgeons around the country who can offer all forms of treatments for stress urinary incontinence, including non-mesh surgery, and urgency incontinence, including neuromodulation. He is also fellowship trained in prolapse and reconstructive surgery and can offer several forms of treatment for conditions affecting the bladder, prostate and urethra. He receives referrals from urologists, gynaecologists and general practitioners from Bristol and the South West as well as nationally and internationally. He is also director of the busiest urodynamics unit in the country, with an international reputation. He has trained several surgeons, from the UK and across the world, on urological surgical techniques and urodynamics, has over 190 publications and has lectured across the world.

In 2019 North Bristol NHS Trust, alongside University Hospitals Bristol and Weston, declared a climate and ecological emergency and set an ambitious goal to be net zero carbon by 2030.

ICS organisations have come together to develop the ICS Green Plan - a joint strategy outlining how we will achieve net zero, improve the quality of the natural environment and use our resources efficiently to protect the health of our patients, staff and community.

Sustainability Policy Statement

In 2025, the North Bristol NHS Trust adopted a new Sustainability Policy to sit alongside our Green Plan. 

This policy outlines the commitments we must make to deliver healthcare in the most sustainable way possible and lays out a blueprint for considering sustainability in Trust processes, decisions and plans. 

By following it, we can keep pushing forward in tackling the climate and ecological crises and work towards better health for our local communities, now and in the future. Download our Sustainability Policy statement:

Travel Plan

The Trust has committed to reduce the impacts from our travel and transport services. The Trust’s Travel Plan 2019-2023 outlines our progress so far and the journey ahead in providing a safe, accessible and sustainable hospital for staff, patients, visitors and the local community.

Download:

Biodiversity Management Plan

The Trust has committed to protect and enhance the environment, maximise access to the natural environment for the benefit of health and wellbeing and the prevention of avoidable illness and adapt our sites ready for a changing climate.  The Trust’s Biodiversity Management Plan (BMP) outlines how we plan to achieve this, making the most of our green spaces onsite, for both people and wildlife.
Download:

BNSSG Climate Change Adaptation Plan

In partnership with our NHS colleagues across Bristol North Somerset and South Gloucestershire (BNSSG), we’ve published the UK’s first region-wide adaptation plan.

The impacts of climate change on our health, services, infrastructure and our ability to cope with extreme weather events will place significant additional demands on the NHS in the future. This adaptation plan highlights the climate change risks we face as a healthcare system and emphasises the importance of working in partnership across the region to ensure our Estate Strategies are robust and enable system-wide resilience. By ensuring our region is resilient to the effects of climate change, we will achieve cost and carbon savings and contribute to the prevention of avoidable illness to achieve a healthier future together.

Healthier Together BNSSG ICS Green Plan

North Bristol NHS Trust is aligned with the Healthier Together BNSSG ICS Green Plan which acts as the Trust’s sustainability strategy. The plan sets out how we will meet the health and care needs of our communities today and in the future. It focuses on delivering three key outcomes for our population: 

• Improving our environment to create a cleaner, safer, more ecologically resilient environment
• Achieving net zero carbon by 2030 across all of our scope emissions
• Generate a BNSSG-wide movement, supporting a cultural change amongst citizens and businesses through our role as a local anchor institution.

Green Plan 2022–2025

Safe and Sustainable Waste Management Policy 

Concordat for the Environmental Sustainability of Research and Innovation Practice

In October 2024 we became the first NHS Trust to sign the Concordat for the Environmental Sustainability of Research and Innovation Practice. Developed by the UK research and innovation sector, the voluntary concordat represents a shared ambition for the UK to continue delivering cutting-edge research, but in a more environmentally responsible and sustainable way.

This letter, signed by Maria Kane, Group chair for NBT and UHBW, publicly acknowledges our commitment to the aims of the Concordat: