Consultant Plastic Surgeons at NBT

Miss Rachel Clancy

Mr Thomas Chapman

Miss Giulia Colavitti

Mr Thomas Wright

Consultant Oncologists at UHBW

Dr Gareth Ayre

Dr Adam Dangoor

Dr Timothy Spencer

Clinical Nurse Specialists

Christine Millman

Rebecca Peach

Sally Lovell

Consultant Radiologists

Dr Brathanban (Ben) Rajayogeswaran

Dr Edward Walton

Extended Core Members North Bristol NHS Trust (Urology)

Mr Salah Albuhessi

Mr Ahmed Mahrous

University Hospital Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (Thoracics)

Miss Eveline Internullo

Mr Doug West

Consultant Histopathologists

Dr Naomi Carson

Dr Francesca Maggiani

Dr Demetris Poyiatzis

Sarcoma Cancer Support Worker

Hannah Hilton

Patient Pathway Coordinators

Charlotte Brown (Plastic Surgery)

Lisa Groves (Plastic Surgery)

Gemma Flook (Urology)

MDT Coordinator

Amy Dixon

Cancer information session

Cancer Support Worker

Macmillan Wellbeing Centre

Bristol Haematology and Oncology Centre (BHOC)

Cancer Research UK

My Medical Record

Penny Brohn

Patient information leaflets

Can-Empower

© North Bristol NHS Trust. This edition published January 2025. Review due January 2028. NBT003764

British Association of Spine Surgeons, visit www.spinesurgeons.ac.uk

British Scoliosis Society, visit www.britscoliosissoc.org.uk

Eurospine, visit www.eurospine.org

The Scoliosis Research Society, visit www.srs.org

AO Spine, visit www.aospine.org

The Bristol Neurological & Spinal Unit provides a Clinical Fellowship for up to one year for a senior surgical trainee wishing to pursue a career in spinal surgery. 

Previous Spinal Fellows have come from either a Neurosurgical or Orthopaedic background. 

There are also opportunities for both UK and international fellows to visit the respective departments of Orthopaedics or Neurosurgery to gain further experience within these sub-specialties. 

For further information regarding the Senior Clinical Spinal Fellowship please contact Mr John Hutchinson Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon on Mr Nitin Patel.

The Bristol Neurological & Spinal Unit has a strong reputation for innovation and groundbreaking research in relation to spinal conditions. Examples of clinical research include:

•  Development and evaluation of new instrumentation to treat paediatric spinal deformity
• Motion preserving spinal technologies such as cervical disc replacements
• Image guided spinal surgery
• Minimally invasive spinal surgery
• Neuro-modulation for chronic pain 
• Investigations into the causes of adult onset spinal deformity

The Bristol Neurological & Spinal Unit also has strong research links with the University of Bristol Department of Anatomy, University of the West of England, the University of Bath Department of Biomechanical Engineering, as well as close links with the Bristol Institute of Clinical Neurosciences.

A comprehensive range of spinal interventions can be undertaken at the Bristol Spinal Unit:

• Emergency spinal surgery for spinal trauma, cauda equina syndrome and tumours
• Intradural spinal micro-neurosurgery
• Diagnostic and therapeutic spinal nerve root blocks
• Spinal deformity surgery including Adult and Paediatric Scoliosis
• Degenerative Cervical and Lumbar deformity surgery
• Minimally invasive and micro-spinal surgery
• Non-instrumented and instrumented spinal surgery for degenerative conditions
• Percutaneous vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty
• Imaging guided spinal tumour biopsy service
• Spinal cord stimulation service for complex regional pain
• Congenital Spinal Pathology including paediatric spinal dysraphism surgery
• Spinal vascular microsurgery
• Inflammatory spinal conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis

At the Bristol Neurological & Spinal Unit, based at Southmead Hospital Bristol we provide a high quality service not just from the technical aspects of what can be achieved but also quality from the perspective of the patient.

The Orthopaedic Spine Surgeons are at the forefront of collecting data on clinical quality outcomes and Neurosurgery are developing tools for recording patient reported outcomes.

As part of our quality agenda the majority of our elective patients are seen at a pre-assessment clinic to identify any potential risks that could influence surgery. The pre-operative assessment clinic is run by specialist nurses under the leadership of surgical and anaesthetic consultants. The nurses help patients prepare for their operations, anticipated discharge home and also provide information regarding what to expect during the recovery period. This all contributes to a smoother in-patient experience for patients.

There are Consultants leading the Audit and Clinical Governance programmes within the Bristol Neurological and Spinal Unit. The specialist nurse practitioners conduct telephone follow up interviews for patients who have undergone non-complex “routine” spinal surgery. We have an active policy of monitoring for surgical site infection and this service is again delivered by our specialist nurse practitioners.

Both the Neurosurgical and Orthopaedic Spinal Teams hold multi-disciplinary team meetings. This provides a forum for discussing patients with challenging spinal conditions as well as an opportunity to reflect on the service and plan for future developments, to present audits and to discuss research proposals. 

The Bristol Spinal Unit accepts patients referred from Primary Care Teams as well as Regional Inter-Hospital referrals as well as national and international referrals. 

We offer a full range of operative and non-operative management strategies for patients with spinal conditions.

Bristol Bariatric Service (BBS) offers primary and revision bariatric surgery (including laparoscopic gastric band, gastric bypass and sleeve gastrectomy). We have an established unit since 2003 and have funding for approximately 250 primary operations per year.
Bariatric Surgery can be considered as a possible treatment option for people with obesity when:

• BMI >40 kg/m2 or person with BMI 35-40 kg/m2 who has other significant disease that could be improved if they lost weight (e.g. type 2 diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidaemia, obstructive sleep apnoea, Benign Intracranial Hypertension etc.).
• All appropriate non-surgical measures have been tried but the person has not achieved or maintained adequate, clinically beneficial weight loss.
• The person has been receiving or will receive intensive management in a Tier 3 service (WAMS).
• The person is generally fit for anaesthesia and surgery.
• The person commits to the need for long term follow up.
• Bariatric surgery is the option of choice (instead of lifestyle interventions or drug treatment) for adults with a BMI of > 50 kg/m2 when other interventions have not been effective.
• Patients with a BMI >35 kg/m2 who have recent-onset type 2 diabetes should be offered an expedited assessment for bariatric surgery as long as they are also receiving or will receive assessment in a Tier 3 service (WAMS).
• Consider an assessment for bariatric surgery for people with BMI 30-35 kg/m2 who have recent onset type 2 diabetes as long as they are also receiving or will receive assessment in a Tier 3 service (WAMS).
• Consider an assessment for bariatric surgery for people of Asian family origin who have recent onset type 2 diabetes at a lower BMI than other populations as long as they are also receiving or will receive assessment in a Tier 3 service (WAMS).

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We will endeavour to assess, investigate and treat patients as soon as possible, and keep you fully informed of their progress.

We accept referrals from:

• Primary care via letter detailing BMI and co morbidities. 
• Interprovider

These should be sent to:

Pauline Clifford, Obesity Services Coordinator
Office 2, Gate 38, Level 3, Brunel building
Southmead Hospital, Westbury‐on‐Trym, Bristol. BS10 5NB
Telephone: 0117 414 0855 or 0117 414 0854

Advice & Guidance

Clinical Advice:
Bariatric Specialist Nurse, Faye Taylor
Telephone 0117 4147557 or 0755 7312784 (Monday-Friday).

Administration or Referral Advice:
Pauline Clifford
Email: pauline.clifford@nbt.nhs.uk (Monday to Wednesday) 
Telephone:0117 414 0855 or 0117 414 0854

Access to the services is by referral, preferably via the relevant specialist.

The Anaesthetic Department provides services at Southmead Hospital Bristol.

• All theatre sessions and emergency surgery

• Post-operative care, including the clinical care of patients in the Intensive Care Unit and High Dependency Unit

• Analgesia and anaesthesia for obstetrics (Southmead)

• Chronic pain management.

Booking team for Outpatients
Please refer via NHS eReferrals

General Manager
Karen Brown

Assistant General Manager
Niall Prosser

Support Managers
Laura Borg
Jack Brimson

Surgical Teams

Clinical Director
Ms Anne Pullyblank

General Surgery Consultants

Upper GI
Mr C Armstrong
Mr C Wong
Mr J Hewes plus Bariatric Surgery
Ms S Norton plus Bariatric surgery

Staff Grade
Mr N. Arvind

Secretaries for Upper GI team

Susan Sheffe
Telephone: 0117 4140834

Jo Miles
Telephone: 0114 4140837

Co-ordinators for Bariatric services

Pauline Clifford
Telephone: 0117 4140855

Diane Smith
Telephone: 0117 4140854

Lower GI (colorectal)

Mr A Roe
Mr A Dixon
Ms A Pullyblank
Ms A Lyons
Ms C Burt
Ms K. Mc Carthy

Secretaries for Lower GI
Yvonne James
Telephone: 0117 4140828

Jane Heaven
Telephone: 0117 4140835

Lindy Shoebottom
Telephone: 0117 4140838

Vascular surgery

Mr A Baker
Mr A Weale
Mr W Neary
Mr D Mitchell

Secretaries for Vascular surgery

Janice Davies
Telephone: 0117 4140841

Joan Barnard
Telephone: 0117 4140826

Endocrine and Transplant

Mr J Morgan
Ms A Edwards

Secretary for Endocrine 
Julie Clash
Telephone: 0117 4140825

Transplant and general surgery

Mr N Kadi

Secretary

Jo Miles
Telephone: 0117 4140837

Waiting list Co-Ordinators – Booking Team for “One Stop Hernia” Service

Liz hedges
Telephone: 0117 4148801

Sarah Crimp
Telephone: 0117 4148801