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

Do you work for a health or social care partner? You have access to the national core content of e-journals and database via the NHS Knowledge and Library Hub.

To access NHS e-resources online you will need to register for an OpenAthens account.

During staffed opening hours (Monday-Thursday 8am-4pm and Friday 8am-3pm) you are welcome to make use of the Library at Southmead Hospital, as a space for studying and using the print books for reference. You are welcome to bring you own laptop and use the WiFi available to all.

Contact us

For further details email us at southmead.library@nbt.nhs.uk.

The library at North Bristol NHS Trust is both a well-equipped and welcoming study space, and the ideal environment away from the workplace to catch-up on paperwork.

There are networked PCs, photocopying and printing facilities, as well as immediate access to our book and print journal collection.  Professional library staff are on hand with their expertise to help you get the most from the library’s resources.

• Networked PCs (access for North Bristol NHS Trust staff and students on placement at Southmead Hospital)
• Printing and photocopying facilities
• Study space
• Immediate access to library resources and expertise

E-resources

You will need an OpenAthens login to access these resources. To find out more and to register visit www.nice.org.uk/about/what-we-do/evidence-services/journals-and-databases/openathens (if registering from a non-trust computer, you will need to use your NHS email account).

Knowledge and Library Hub
Access to high quality knowledge and evidence resources in one place. Includes access to journals, books and e-books (including OUP handbooks).

DynaMed
Resource to support evidence-based clinical decision making

Royal Marsden Manual of Clinical Nursing Procedures
The leading resource for clinical skills and procedures

GMC Number: 3183115

Year of first qualification: 1987, University of Bristol

Specialty: Radiology

Clinical interest: Uroradiology and Interventional radiology

Secretary: Niamh Hamer

Telephone no: 01174149015

Dr Mark Julian Thornton is a consultant radiologist with interests in vascular, renal and urological imaging.

Dr Thornton is the lead Radiologist at North Bristol NHS Trust.

He is an Examiner for the Royal College of Radiologists, a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and a Fellow of the Royal College of Radiologists.

GMC Number: 4475237

Year of first qualification: 1985, Ain-Shams University, Cairo, Egypt

Specialty: Obstetrics and Fetal Medicine

Clinical interest: High risk pregnancies, women at risk of preterm labour, obstetrics ultrasound, prenatal diagnosis and management of fetal abnormalities, both diagnostic & therapeutic

Secretary: Jo Sirett

Telephone: 0117 414 7140

Mr Sherif Abdel-Fattah completed his MD thesis in Glasgow in 1994, undertook general Obstetrics & Gynaecology training in Yorkshire, then fetal medicine training in Bristol. He was Consultant at St Michael’s hospital in Bristol from 2002 before moving to Southmead Hospital in April 2008.

Mr Abdel-Fattah leads the UK training for overseas non-EU doctors in his role as the MTI (Medical Training Initiative) Officer for the Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists (RCOG). He also holds several national positions at the RCOG as he is member of the Global Health Unit, member of the Specialist Training committee, former member of the Part 2 MRCOG committee and of the DRCOG committee. He is Scientific Editor of the British Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology (BJOG).