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Recently a patient aged 80 with lower oesophageal cancer was being assessed for fitness for surgery. It was decided that his heart disease led to a high risk of oesophagectomy, and that he should not be offered surgery. He complained that this was unfair as he was the one who was being exposed to the…

I was lucky enough to be one of two representatives of the Royal London Hospital (with Matron Tosh Denholm) at the Patrons Lunch held on Sunday 12th June, to celebrate the Queen’s 90th birthday. In spite of the rain, the coming together of 10,000 people from the 600 organisations of which the Queen is Patron…

A recent case has reminded me of the rare but important problem of Gastric Volvulus. Patients may have chronic symptoms of upper abdominal pain and vomiting, but not typical of peptic ulcer. A Gastroscopy may show altered anatomy but may be interpreted as normal. The best test to determine if there is an actual volvulus…

In my medicolegal work, I have analysed many cases involving the patient being admitted to hospital as an emergency, and an important diagnosis being missed. All too often, the case review shows that the Consultant Post-Take Ward Round has been too superficial and not properly documented. The most common omission is not preparing a full…

Probably the most important piece of news for GI and Liver disease in the recent past is that the new all-oral drugs for treating Hepatitis C have been approved by NICE, and will be funded by NHS England, starting this month or soon after. The whole of England will be covered by ‘Operational Delivery Networks’…