I am a Consultant Anaesthetist at Birmingham Childrens Hospital, which is a large busy tertiary paediatric centre.
My undergraduate and postgraduate training was almost entirely in London. From an early stage I realised that I wanted to specialise in paediatrics.
I am closely involved with infants and small children with liver disease undergoing liver and or bowel transplantation, as well as working in a multidisciplinary team providing long term central venous access for children with a variety of medical problems. The particular challenges I face are the preterm infants and those requiring life-long central access for parenteral nutrition or haemodialysis.
As with all health care systems, resources are limited and the challenges I face are often logistic rather than clinical, with increasing numbers of sick patients requiring long term vascular access being fitted into busy lines lists.
I have lectured and published widely on the subject, and am perhaps best known for the percutaneous placement of 2.7Fr Broviac lines in infants less than 1kg. I believe that education about venous access is crucial to avoid harm to our patients and improve their quality of life.
I also realise that paediatric vascular access is a very demanding specialty and requires meticulous technique and attention to detail.
June 2019
