Gastroenterology

Gastroenterology relates to the investigation and treatment of conditions affecting the stomach, intestines, liver, and pancreas. We run gastroenterology services from City Hospital and Sandwell Hospital, and there are dedicated wards for inpatients at both hospitals.

Team

The Gastroenterology Department is a large team working at both City Hospital and Sandwell Hospital, consisting of 9 consultant gastroenterologists, 1 nurse consultant, 6 clinical nurse specialists, and 3 nurse endoscopists, as well as specialists in dietetics, pharmacy, and speech and language therapy.

Gastroenterology
Dr Mark Anderson – consultant gastroenterologist and Clinical Director of Gastroenterology
Tel: 0121 507 4589

Dr Hugh Bradby – consultant gastroenterologist
Tel: 0121 507 3250

Dr Carol Cobb – consultant gastroenterologist
Tel: 0121 507 3082

Dr Rachel Cooney – consultant gastroenterologist
Tel: 0121 507 4952

Dr Edward Fogden – consultant gastroenterologist
Tel: 0121 507 6134

Dr Matthew Lewis – consultant gastroenterologist
Tel: 0121 507 4926

Dr Imtiyaz Mohammed – consultant gastroenterologist
Tel: 0121 507 2577

Dr Saket Singhal – consultant gastroenterologist
Tel: 0121 507 3819

Dr Nigel Trudgill – consultant gastroenterologist
Tel: 0121 507 3080

Mr Warren Chapman – gastroenterology nurse consultant
Tel: 0121 507 4590

Matrons for gastroenterology
Fiona Green – City Hospital
Alan Coley – Sandwell Hospital

Radiology and interventional radiology
Dr Dee Dawkins – consultant radiologist
Dr Mark Davies – consultant radiologist
Dr Ros Donovan – consultant radiologist
Dr Frank Leahy – consultant interventional radiologist
Dr Mark Moss – consultant interventional radiologist
Dr Bernard Wee – consultant interventional radiologist

Histopathology
Dr Suhail Muzzafar – consultant histopathologist
Dr Asif Quadri – consultant histopathologist
Dr Ulises Zanetto – consultant histopathologist

Colorectal surgery
Mr Neil Cruickshank – consultant colorectal surgeon
Ms Kath Gill – consultant colorectal surgeon
Mr Howard Joy – consultant colorectal surgeon
Mr Vijay Thumbe – consultant colorectal surgeon
Mr Manickam Vairavan – consultant colorectal surgeon
Mr Kevin Wheatley – consultant colorectal surgeon
Mandie Ballantine – Macmillan colorectal nurse
Sara Connor – Macmillan colorectal nurse
Denise Pugh – Macmillan colorectal nurse specialist
Kathleen Dawes – colorectal nurse specialist
Jodie Jeavons – colorectal nurse specialist

The nurses above can be contacted on 0121 507 4418.

Upper gastrointestinal surgery
Mr Ed Harper – upper gastrointestinal surgeon
Mr Dham Mohbarak – upper gastrointestinal surgeon

Palliative care
Dr Anna Lock – palliative care consultant
Tel: 0121 507 2792.

Kate Hall – lead clinical nurse specialist for palliative care
Tel: 0121 507 4846

Palliative care team at City Hospital – 0121 507 5296
Palliative care team at Sandwell Hospital – 0121 557 2511

Inflammatory bowel disease
Heather Hart – lead gastroenterology clinical nurse specialist
Tel: 0121 507 3982

Heidi Johnson-Gazzard – inflammatory bowel disease nurse specialist
Tel: 0121 507 5119

Nurse endoscopists
Barbara Johnson

Gastrointestinal physiology
Gill Parkes – practitioner in gastrointestinal physiology (runs the oesophageal Ph/manometry service at Sandwell Hospital)
Tel: 0121 507 2490

Kelly Stackhouse – functional nurse specialist
Julie Wheatley – nurse practitioner in gastrointestinal physiology

Hepatitis
Clare Smith – viral hepatitis clinical nurse specialist
Tel: 0121 507 3982

Bowel cancer
Claire Beats – bowel cancer screening practitioner
Eileen Callaghan – bowel cancer screening practitioner
Gaynor Hipkiss – bowel cancer screening practitioner
Lesley Lynch – bowel cancer screening practitioner
Maxine Sadler – bowel cancer screening practitioner

Nutrition
Luke Banfield – dietician
Par Chana – nutrition clinical nurse specialist
Edmond Chow – pharmacist
Miriam Constable – speech and language therapist
Dr Elizabeth Hughes – clinical biochemist
Alban Tanajura – nutrition clinical nurse specialist
Nicky Wootton – nutrition clinical nurse specialist

Services

Coeliac disease
Specialist coeliac disease clinics are run by gastroenterologists with an interest in coeliac disease with full dietetics support.

Endoscopy
The Trust offers a full range of diagnostic and therapeutic procedures using the latest equipment and we run a 24-hour on-call emergency endoscopy service. We are a National Bowel Cancer Screening Programme centre and Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust endoscopy was rated A on the GRS national audit. Endoscopies are carried out at the endoscopy units at City Hospital (main endoscopy unit and Birmingham Treatment Centre) and Sandwell Hospital. Procedures carried out include.

• Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy
• Colonoscopy
• Flexible sigmoidoscopy
• Endoscopic retrograde cholangio pancreatography (ERCP)
• Endoscopic ultrasound
• Video capsule endoscopy
• Oesophageal and endoscopic mucosal resections
• Breath testing for lactose and fructose intolerance and for bacterial overgrowth

Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust has produced the following downloadable leaflets for patients having an endoscopy:

• Having a gastroscopy
• Having a colonoscopy
• Having a flexible sigmoidoscopy
• Having an ERCP
• Having an endoscopic ultrasound
• Laxative instructions for colonoscopy (morning appointment)
• Laxative instructions for colonoscopy (afternoon appointment)

There is also an NHS Choices film about having an upper GI endoscopy. Click here to go to video on the NHS Choices website.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) – Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis
Care for patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is provided by a team delivering a service based on the IBD standards with IBD clinical nurse specialists based at both City and Sandwell sites. We participate in the National IBD Audit, as well as both local and national research into IBD.

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) clinics are run in City Hospital by Dr Lewis and at Sandwell Hospital by Dr Trudgill, with access to hypnotherapy.

Liver disease
All the gastroenterology consultants welcome referrals for liver disease and we have close links to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Liver Unit.

Viral hepatitis (hepatitis B and C)
Specialist clinics for patients with chronic hepatitis B or hepatitis C are run by Dr Singhal in conjunction with a specialist nurse at City Hospital and Sandwell Hospital. Dr Singhal works closely with colleagues at the Liver Unit at University Hospitals NHS Trust to deliver state-of-the-art treatment of viral hepatitis.

Alcohol services
We work closely with staff at the West Midlands Poisons Unit who offer fast-track outpatient assessment for patients wishing to be considered for elective inpatient alcohol detoxification as well as caring for patients presenting acutely with severe alcohol withdrawal. We work with the RAID team at City and the Aquarius and Swanswell alcohol teams to provide care for patients with alcohol dependency.

Cancer
We work in several teams in the diagnosis of patients with gastrointestinal cancer. Meetings are held weekly for colorectal, upper GI and hepatobiliary malignancy with specialist nurses and support for each. The gastroenterology team works closely with the upper GI surgeons at this trust and at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital for upper GI malignancy, and the liver physicians and hepatobiliary surgeons at the Queen Elizabeth Liver Unit to care for patients with pancreatic and hepatobiliary cancer. We provide a number of services for patients with gastrointestinal cancer, including insertion of stents in the oesophagus, stomach/duodenum, biliary tract and colon. The gastroenterologists work closely with the oncology team, which reviews patients in clinics at both City and Sandwell hospitals. Where possible, patients will receive chemotherapy at our hospitals, but we have good links with the Queen Elizabeth Hospital for certain types of chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

Oesophageal disorders
Oesophageal clinics are run by Dr Trudgill at Sandwell and Dr Anderson at City. Dr Trudgill and Dr Anderson have a special interest in Barrett’s oesophagus and run dedicated screening endoscopy lists with trimodal imaging and specialist clinics. Research projects are ongoing with a nurse-led Barrett’s clinic at Sandwell Hospital.

GI physiology – oesophageal
The oesophageal pH / manometry service is run at Sandwell General Hospital by Gill Parkes, Nurse Practitioner in GI Physiology. Oesophageal pH and manometry studies, wireless pH monitoring, oesophageal impedance monitoring and high resolution manometry are carried out.

Anorectal disorders
Miss Kathryn Gill is a consultant colorectal surgeon with an interest in pelvic floor disorders such as faecal incontinence. A range of services, including physiology (manometry, endoanal ultrasound) is available at Sandwell General Hospital. Julie Wheatley, Nurse Practitioner in GI Physiology, performs anorectal physiology, endoanal ultrasound and whole pelvic floor scanning and percutaneous tibial nerve stimulation. Kelly Stackhouse, Functional Nurse Specialist, provides treatment for functional bowel and pelvic floor disorders.

Services include:

• Support Education and dietary advice
• Pelvic floor exercises (including correct defaecatory dynamics)
• Medication
• Biofeedback (including sensory retraining)
• Neuromodulation
• Irrigation

Nutrition
Nutrition teams work on both sites providing a full range of nutritional support.

Obesity
SWBH does not currently offer a bariatric surgery service. Management of obesity is via dietetics departments in primary care.

Patient Information

Patient information leaflets
Having a colonoscopy
Having a fibroscan
Having a flexible sigmoidoscopy
Having a gastroscopy
Having a liver biopsy
Laxative instructions (afternoon appointment)
Laxative instructions (morning appointment)

If you are a patient you may find the websites below useful.

General gastroenterology
British Society of Gastroenterology
CORE

Irritable bowel disease
CORE
Crohn’s and Colitis UK

Coeliac disease
CORE
BBC Food – gluten-free recipes
Coeliac UK

Irritable bowel syndrome
CORE
The Gut Trust

Liver diseases
British Liver Trust
Department of Health – hepatitis C
NHS Choices – hepatitis C

Alcohol
Al-Anon
Alcohol Anonymous
Alcohol Concern
Aquarius
Birmingham Drug and Action Team
British Liver Trust
Drink Aware

Cancer
Birmingham Cancer Network
Cancer Research
CORE
Macmillan – general information
Upper GI Blues

Sexual health
Whittle St

If you are a healthcare professional you may find the following websites useful.

Gastroenterology
British Society of Gastroenterology
British Society of Gastroenterology guidelines listed by release date
British Society of Gastroenterology 2010 guidelines on colorectal surveillance

Inflammatory bowel disease
European Crohn’s and Colitis Organisation (ECCO) consensus documents. Includes: Crohn’s 2010 definitions and diagnosis, current management, special circumstance; UC 2008 – definition and diagnosis, current management, and special circumstances; prevention, diagnosis, and management of opportunistic infections in IBD; role of small bowel endoscopy in the management of patients with IBD

British Society of Gastroenterology 2010 guidelines on colorectal cancer surveillance in groups including IBD patients
IBD Standards
IBD Standards documents
St Mark’s Hospital patient information sheets

Coeliac disease
Coeliac UK health professionals page

Hepatology / liver diseases
AASLD
EASL
British Association for Study of the Liver

Nutrition
BAPEN
NICE

Research links
NIH research programmes

Research links
NIH research programmes

Professional societies / useful links
British Society of Gastroenterology
British Society of Gastroenterology guidelines
American Gastroenterology Association
ASGE
AASLD
BAPEN
NICE

Contacts

Outpatients
City Hospital (Birmingham Treatment Centre): 0121 507 4151
Sandwell Hospital Outpatients Department: 0121 507 4617
Rowley Regis Hospital Outpatients Department: 0121 507 6317

Endoscopy units
Endoscopies are carried out at the endoscopy units at City Hospital (main endoscopy unit and Birmingham Treatment Centre) and Sandwell General Hospital.

City Hospital
Contact number for endoscopy units: 0121 507 5318
Sandwell General Hospital
Sandwell Endoscopy Unit / Day Case reception: 0121 507 3307

Inpatients
Inpatient care is on wards D15 and D17 at City Hospital, and Lyndon 5 at Sandwell Hospital.

D15
Ward manager: Judy Brown
Ward sisters: Amanda Jones and Dilly Oakes
Telephone: 0121 507 4015

D17
Ward manager: Justine Irish
Ward sister: Natalie Whitton
Charge nurse: Kevin Salmon
Telephone: 0121 507 4015

Lyndon 5
Ward manager: Helen Lewis
Ward sisters: Rose Butler, Dilara Khatun
Telephone: 0121 507 3526 or 0121 507 3883