Surgeons putting South Tyneside on the map with top work

Trainees Dr Jessica Neilson and Dr Hamish Walker and Surgical Registrars Mr Jignesh Jatania, Mr Ahmed Nassar and Mr George Demetriou are in Liverpool this week for the International Surgical Congress of the Association of Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland (ASGBI) to present their academic work.

They will be accompanied by consultant kaparoscopic colorectal surgeon Mr Sriram Subramonia, who was the senior author of the papers.

The theme of the congress is “Surgical Teams” - recognising that surgery is now delivered by multi-disciplinary, multi-professional teams, and that collaborative teamwork has significant benefits in improved efficiency, clinical outcomes, fostering innovation and delivering academic and research opportunities.

The South Tyneside academic papers relate to a variety of topics including gastrointestinal endoscopy - a procedure where the inside of the body is examined using a tiny cemera - and emergency surgery for acute gallstone disease.

Another paper by Mr Demetriou and Mr Subramonia has won a highly regarded Royal Society of Medicine (RSM) International Travelling Fellowship Prize in relation to coloproctology - the treatment of both benign and cancerous disease of the colon, rectum and anus.

Mr Demetriou will also travel to Lisbon, Portugal, later this month to present his work at the summer overseas meeting of the RSM.

South Tyneside NHS Foundation Trust’s medical director Dr Shaz Wahid said: “These scientific papers are the product of truly admirable work that our department of surgery are involved in as part of their continuing professional development.

“This latest recognition is a strong reflection of the excellent training and support we offer to those starting out in their chosen surgical careers.

“Clinical research is an imperative part of continuing to advance what we are able to do in the NHS and it is commendable that our teams have delivered such in-depth research whilst delivering their normal clinical practice and caring for patients.”

He added: “The academic work of our Department of Surgery will, undoubtedly, further enhance the already excellent reputation of the department and provides invaluable learning for other team members not just here in South Tyneside but for our colleagues in Sunderland, too. “Across our two Trusts we are already starting to work ever more closely together and, in line with the congress theme of ‘collaborative teamwork’, we are fully committed to sharing our expertise across both organisations for the benefit of patient care.”