NHS Treatment

A referral from your GP or hospital doctor is required for all NHS patients.

There is no routine funding for laser treatment, except for children with birthmarks and a few exceptions such as patients with burns scarring. If you wish to be considered for NHS treatment, please see your GP to discuss whether you might be eligible.

In most cases your GP will have to apply on your behalf to the Exceptional Funding Panel in your local area. Consideration may be given to patients with large facial birthmarks, medical problems such as open wounds, bleeding lesions or other unusually severe conditions. 

Self-funded Treatment

If you are not eligible for NHS funding, you can choose to self-fund your laser treatment. An initial appointment at the Bristol Laser Centre with a specialist doctor costs £120. We offer a sensitive, personal, honest approach to your laser treatment needs.

All laser treatments at the Bristol Laser Centre are performed by doctors and nurses who have received specialist training in skin laser treatment.

A referral is not needed for self-funding patients over 16 years of age. Patients seeking self-funded treatment can contact Bristol Laser Centre or phone us directly on 0117 4141212 to arrange an appointment.

In some circumstances we may request information from your GP, for example if you have any medical history that may influence laser treatment.

We require a referral letter for all children under 16 years old.

>> Contact Bristol Laser Centre

All laser treatments at Bristol Laser Centre are performed by doctors and nurses who have received specialist training in skin laser treatment.

A laser is a very powerful energy source that produces a very bright light. When something absorbs this light it heats up, rather like a black object heats up in sunlight. By controlling the colour, energy and direction of the laser beam it is possible to heat up certain targets in the skin without damaging the rest of the skin.

Pulse dye laser

Vascular lasers such as the pulse dye laser work by targeting the blood vessels in the skin, heating them up so that the blood vessels shut down. Pulse dye lasers produce short, high-energy pulses of light, which disrupt the blood vessels, resulting in bruising immediately after treatment. This can take about 7 days to fade. These are the lasers most commonly used for treatment of red birthmarks.

Qswitched NdYAG laser

This laser is designed to treat tattoos and pigmented (brown) lesions. The tattoo ink particles absorb the laser energy and break up into smaller fragments, which are gradually dispersed by the body’s natural defence systems.

Qswitched Ruby laser

This laser may be used to fade green and blue tattoos, which are the most difficult colours to fade with laser treatment.

Long pulsed Alexandrite laser

The Alexandrite laser is designed to treat unwanted hair. It is the pigment of the hair that is the target for the laser energy so it works best on dark hair. Very light coloured hair does not respond at all. The laser energy heats up and damages the hair’s growing mechanism, so that hair growth is reduced.

Long pulsed NdYAG laser

This laser enables unwanted hair to be treated safely in dark-skinned individuals, for whom the Alexandrite laser is often not suitable.

It can also be used to enhance pulse dye laser treatment of some birthmarks and for leg threadveins.

Carbon Dioxide Laser (C02 Laser)

This laser has two functions, ablative and fractionated. The ablative function is a concentrated energy beam used to remove superficial layers of the skin. It is used to treat some conditions such as skin cancers and raised pigmented lesions.

The fractionated function can be used to treat problematic scarring, for example from a burns injury. It can also be used as a resurfacing tool to improve the appearance of scars left from severe acne.

Professional Skin Laser treatment from the Experts

Opened in 1992, the Bristol Laser Centre, Southmead Hospital Bristol was one of the first units in the UK to offer skin laser treatments.

Bristol Laser Centre treats both NHS and self-funding patients from across the Bristol area and the entire South West region.

All laser treatments at the Bristol Laser Centre are performed by doctors and nurses who have received specialist training in skin laser treatment. 

Contact Bristol Laser Centre or call 0117 4141212 for an appointment.

Conditions treated include:

• Acne treatments
• Tattoo removal
• Unwanted hair removal
• Portwine stain birthmarks
• Spider naevi
• Facial threadveins and redness
• Rosacea
• Red scars
• Haemangiomas/strawberry marks
• Brown birthmarks
• Freckles
• Age spots

With an initial self-funded consultation with one of our specialist doctors for £120, we offer a sensitive, personal, honest approach to your laser treatment needs.

GMC number: 3667550

Specialty: Urology

Clinical interest: Community Urology, Testicular Cancer, Renal Cancer, Retroperitoenal Surgery and Soft Tissue Sarcoma

Secretary: Amy Wheeler

Telephone: 0117 4145002

E-mail: urologykidneyoncologyadminteam@nbt.nhs.uk

Mr Timothy Whittlestone was named Hunterian Professor of Surgery 1992.
 
Mr Whittlestone trained in Surgery at Oxford, Bristol, Mayo Clinic Minnesota, Cornwall and Weston Super Mare.

He is trained in Surgical Management of Urinary Incontinence and has been the Clinical Lead in Urology at North Bristol NHS Trust (NBT)since 2010.

BrAMS combines top class clinical services with cutting edge research. Donations can be made to support BrAMS through Southmead Hospital Charity with all funds going directly to the provision of clinical research and facilities at the BrAMS centre and our own laboratory research based at Southmead Hospital Bristol.

Stem cell research offers the potential for exciting developments in many areas of medicine, including the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS).

The BrAMS unit also participates in many ongoing international and national multicentre clinical studies, testing drugs to see whether they should be approved for wider use in the general population for those with MS.

These also provide a vital source of revenue for the unit, funding many key posts. We are fortunate that BrAMS has earned a reputation as a centre of excellence for the coordination of MS clinical trails.

Just £3 a month, 10p a day will make a real and lasting difference to the future of multiple sclerosis.

Thank you so much for your support.

GMC Number: 4185338

Year of first qualification: 1995, Newcastle Upon Tyne

Specialty: Obstetrics & Gynaecology

Clinical interest: Pelvic pain and endometriosis, laparoscopic surgery, colposcopy, obstetrics

Secretary: Alison Hodges

Telephone: 0117 4146748

Miss Appleyard first trained as a GP, before changing to a career in obstetrics and gynaecology. She was appointed as a consultant at Southmead Hospital Bristol in 2011. She is the lead consultant for colposcopy at North Bristol NHS Trust.

She is a member of the BSGE and BSCCP. She is the Consultant Advisor for Obstetrics and Gynaecology (Army).

Following a close of the trial at NBT, it is necessary to archive all trial related documentation to ensure that all study documentation is:

• Stored correctly and confidentiality maintained.
• Not passed on without the appropriate consent.
• Accessed in-line with Trust policies and procedures.
• Only used for the defined purpose.

This archiving process also ensures:

• Patient safety in using and recording information
• Up-to-date information is stored
• Staff awareness of responsibilities and accountability
• Information is accessible when required

Storage of personal data is subject to the Data Protection Act 1998 and, in clinical trials, the applicable elements of the UK Clinical Trial Regulations.

Standard Operating Procedure ISOP IO3 describes the procedure for the archiving of all study documents on ALL research studies that are sponsored by or hosted by North Bristol NHS Trust. The length of time for archiving is dependent upon each individual protocol and/or guidance from the commercial sponsor.

The process for safety reporting varies depending on whether or not the research is a ctIMP and on the procedures of the Sponsor of the research.

This general process should be followed in all research:

• RECORD the event may be recorded on the patient's medical notes, a Case Report Form (CRF) or on a Safety Reporting Form provided by the Sponsor.
• ASSESS an assessment should be undertaken by the Chief or Principal Investigator to evaluate seriousness, causality, intensity and expectedness. 
• REPORT based on the conclusion from the previous step, the event should be reported on the CRF and/or SAE form as appropriate and within the timescales required.

There are a number of other issues to consider at each stage and the timescales depend on the nature of the event – for example a fatal Suspected Unexpected Serious Adverse Reactions (SUSAR) must be reported and signed by the PI within 24 hours to the Sponsor, followed up in writing within 48 hours, and reported to the MHRA and REC no later than 7 days after the Sponsor becomes aware of the reaction.