
Profile
I am a Consultant ENT Surgeon in Manchester practising all aspects of adult and paediatric ENT. My particular areas of interest are the surgical management of benign and malignant head and neck diseases, including thyroid and salivary gland surgery, as well as adult airway and voice surgery.
My NHS practice is based at Wythenshawe Hospital which is part of Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust. I have a weekly cancer clinic at The Christie and am a core member of The Christie Head and Neck Cancer MDT and Thyroid MDT.
After completing medical school in Sheffield with distinction I completed my surgical training in and around Manchester. To complete my training I was awarded a surgical fellowship at Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital in London, where I was trained by senior surgeons from ENT, Maxillofacial and Plastic Surgery in advanced head and neck, facial plastic and airway surgery.
I have enjoyed several leadership roles within the NHS as I feel that it's important to be in a position to help healthcare evolve and to ensure every member of the team works cohesively to deliver the best possible care for our patients. In the private sector I enjoy the fact that I have full control of the patient journey from first presentation and throughout treatment. I feel that the doctor patient relationship needs to be one of trust and I very much enjoy the process of really getting to know my patients.
Positions of responsibility
Speciality Lead, Ear, Nose and Throat Surgery as well as Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, for Wythenshawe, Trafford, Withington and Altrincham Hospitals, managing all inpatient, outpatient, elective and emergency care. This position allows me to work with senior decision makers throughout the region to improve care, drive change and allow for innovation and evolution.
Chair, North West Shared Airway Group, managing patients with complex breathing problems from around the North of England and Wales. I lead a group that comprises ENT surgeons, Respiratory Physicians, Thoracic Surgeons, Anaesthetists, Speech and Language Therapists, Rheumatologists and Specialist Nurses. We receive referrals from throughout the North of England usually for patients with complex anatomy resulting in breathing problems.
Chair, Manchester Safer Surgery Group 2016-18, working with doctors and nurses to improve patient safety during surgery. If there is a near miss or a major event in the operating theatre environment, our group take a deep dive to determine what changes we can put in place to better protect our patients in the future. Errors happen, but it is unforgivable not to learn from them. This is the ethos from which the group was founded in 2016.
Examiner, The Royal College of Surgeons, setting the standard for new Consultants. The final exam to become a Consultant ENT Surgeon is the FRCS, or Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons. We have to make sure all new consultants have the knowledge base to make them safe and effective consultants. I am part of a small group from across the UK who meet twice yearly to update and improve that examination so that its always up to date, relevant and quite rightly, challenging.
Undergraduate lead, Wythenshawe Hospital, ensuring the next generation are well prepared for life as a doctor. I very much believe that as surgeons, we stand on the shoulder of giants. That means that for thousands of years we have learnt what works and what doesn't. All of that learning has meant that we are where we are, in a technological and academic surge point. Getting medical students ready to take that baton in the future is critical to our moving forward and that is why I have been undergraduate lead for our department ever since I first became a Consultant and why I will always have a role within the medical school.