GMC Number: 6061078

Year of first qualification: 2002, Chennai India

Specialty: Neurology

Clinical interests: Epilepsy

Secretary: Paula Davies

Telephone: 0117 414 6685

GMC number: 6093356

Specialty: Anaesthetics

General Practitioners should phone the GP Support Team (GPST) on 01172449283 to refer acutely unwell medical patients to the Acute Medicine Unit (AMU).
The GPST will record the clinical details and advise you of where to send the patient.
This will be Gate 31b, Gate 31a (Ambulatory Emergency Care), Level 0, Brunel building, Southmead Hospital or in certain circumstances to the Emergency Department, Level 0, Brunel building, Southmead Hospital.

If you wish to speak to the on call medical Consultant please phone the hospital switchboard on 0117 9505050 and ask to be connected to them.

All acutely unwell medical patients can be referred to the Acute Medicine service. Referral letters should be faxed to the Acute Medical Unit.

There are specific community pathways for patients with suspected DVT accessed via GP Care.

 

Medicine Consultants
Dr Ella Chaudhuri
Dr Ishita Dasgupta
Dr Kiaran Flanagan
Dr John Ho
Dr Nigel Lane
Dr Sam Patel
Dr Louise Powter
Dr May Samways
Dr Madhu Wickremaratchi

Ward Managers
Gemma Stafford
George Duffield
Emma Stedman

Pharmacist
Natasha Mogford

Patients might be referred by their GP or the Emergency Department for assessment to the Ambulatory Emergency Care area on Gate 31a, Level 0, Brunel Building, Southmead Hospital.

 

This is a seated assessment area where the patient’s story can be detailed, investigations arranged and treatment started if needed.

Some patients will be discharged at this point with a detailed plan for follow-up or outpatient investigations if required. It is here that other patients will see a medical Consultant.

 

 

 

 

 

On arrival to the Acute Medical Unit (AMU) nearly all patients will undergo a triage assessment in Gate 31b while some patients will go straight to Gate 31a (Ambulatory Emergency Care) which is a seated assessment area.

After triage by an Acute Medicine nurse you will have a primary assessment by a doctor. This assessment ensures that the sickest patients have investigations such as a chest x-ray and treatment can be started as soon as possible. Many of these very unwell patients will be moved to the Enhanced Care Area for closer monitoring and secondary assessment on Gate 31a. It is here that these patients will be reviewed by a medical Consultant.

For the majority of patients a more detailed secondary assessment will take place in one of the Assessment beds on Gate 31b. This will involve detailing the patient story, arranging investigations and starting treatment if needed. Some patients will be discharged out of hospital at this point with a detailed plan for follow-up and outpatient investigations if required.

It is here many patients will see a medical Consultant. The medical Consultant will decide if you need to stay in hospital or if you can be discharged out of hospital.

If you are discharged out of hospital further investigations may be needed and you may be referred to another Specialist or back to the care of your General Practitioner (GP).

If you need to stay in hospital you will either be admitted to a Specialist bed or moved to Gate 31a Short Stay. It is anticipated that most patients who require a short hospital stay of a few days will be discharged from Gate 31a.

Back Pack is for patients who experience recurrent acute back pain episodes that have caused disruption and incapacity. They are at risk of decline towards more severe effects and this course aims to reverse the deconditioning and to build knowledge and confidence in reducing the risks for future back problems. 

Back Pack accepts referrals from

• GPs, physiotherapists
• Musculoskeletal Assessment and Treatment Service (MATS)
• spinal surgery services at Southmead Hospital Bristol
• Pain Clinic at Southmead Hospital Bristol.

Please include within the referral letter details of the patients’ history, previous treatments, current medication, and any relevant medical or social history  that would help our service to assess and support your patient effectively.

Once we have received the referral, we will invite your patient to attend an introductory meeting so that they can find out more about Back Pack. After this there is then an individual assessment with the specialist physiotherapist prior to starting the course.

A Self-Management Programme (SMP) can be accessed by a referral from anywhere in the care pathway such as a:

• General Practitioner
• physiotherapist
• Musculoskeletal Assessment and Treatment Service (MATS)
• the spinal surgery services at Southmead Hospital Bristol
• Pain Clinic at Southmead Hospital Bristol.

It is fast-track and we rely on the referrer to ensure that the patient is appropriate for a rehabilitative approach, with no planned or on-going investigations/intervention in respect of their pain condition. There should be scope and some motivation for improving how well they are coping with this.

The referrer should ensure that the patient is not suffering from an active disease process with escalating physically frailty, such as advanced osteoporosis, or joint instability such as that caused by Hypermobility Syndrome, or joint damage, possibly secondary to rheumatoid arthritis.

Once we have received the referral, we will invite your patient to attend an Introductory Meeting so that you can find out more about the course. Following this we will offer them a place on a course. These courses run in different venues around Bristol and we will try to offer a place on the most convenient and timely course.

Pain Management Programmes (PMP) is a likely route forwards. if it is the chosen path then the next step is for your patient to attend an information meeting about the Pain Management Programme so that they can make an informed decision about joining a course and consider the choices that are available for this.

These courses are run at Southmead Hospital Bristol on either a Monday, Wednesday or Thursday.

They start from the position of comprehensive assessment and the final preparatory step is a review with a physiotherapist before then beginning a group programme.

Possibly not, if the patient is being considered for SMP or Back Pack.

However, the majority of patients begin specialist pain care in the Pain Clinic before coming to the Pain Management Centre. Any possible options for pain relief can be considered and their pain medication is optimised.  The Pain Clinic Consultant contributes important information on overall health and medical condition(s) which is important for forming a plan of care for rehabilitative pain management.

The next step is then for the patient to attend a 1:1 assessment with one of the PMP team. This adds further information to build a profile of the ways they have adapted, their current level of functioning physically, psychologically and socially, along with any complications or barriers that need to be taken into account. We will work out together with your patient what the scope and priorities will be in forming a plan of care.