oUR consUltants - London Bridge Hospital

10 Minutes With...
interview
Minutes
With... 10Consultant
EIGHTEEN
1. Why did you decide to study medicine?
When I was about 10-years-old a friend and I were having a water fight in the
garden. My friend accidently fell and lacerated his forehead; there was blood
everywhere! In a panic my mother ran across the road to fetch our neighbour
who was a neurosurgeon. He came over and stitched the scalp wound in the
garden. I was fascinated as I watched him stitching, and from that point onwards
always wanted to be a surgeon.
2. What made you pursue your specialty?
Orthopaedics was instantly extremely appealing to me. It is a very practical
and logical specialty with loads of great kit and gadgetry. I particularly enjoy the
problem-solving aspects, having the ability to fix patients’ injuries, reconstruct
or replace their damaged joints, and getting them back to having active lives.
3. What is the most rewarding part of your job?
Seeing patients getting better is definitely the most rewarding part of the job.
I also love working with so many other highly skilled co-professionals in the
hospital and other clinical environments, both in the UK and abroad.
4. What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?
I have a young family that keeps me pretty busy. I otherwise enjoy cycling,
fairweather windsurfing and sailing, and triathlons. I snowboard in the winter
and love eating. In my younger years, I was a Drum and Bass DJ and ran my own
record company. I had a number one hit in the Drum and Bass Chart in 1993
with a 5-track record called the ‘Summer Rush EP’, though that was a lifetime ago.
5. What is the title of your ‘best read’ so far?
’Catch 22’ by Joseph Heller – just brilliant.
6. If you could invite three people to dinner, living or dead, who would
they be?
Genghis Khan would be my first choice. Who else but the man who commanded
the world’s largest contiguous Empire, and from whom one in twelve of us is
directly descended. My second would be Bill Bryson. I love reading the trivia
in his books and think he would be extremely interesting to chat to. Novak
Djokovic would be my third. He is not only an outstanding world-class athlete
at the top of his game, but extremely bright and an amazing ambassador for his
country Serbia, that has suffered such a troubled recent history.
7. What is special about where you grew up?
I grew up in a lot of places. I was born in Yugoslavia and then lived in Italy
and Sweden before settling in the UK. I studied in Edinburgh, did my registrar
training in London and Fellowships in Canada and Australia. All these places
and their differing cultures hold special memories for me.
8. Where is your favourite place in the world?
Nothing beats home with the family.
9. Who would you get to play yourself in a movie?
Will Smith. I have always wanted to play a part in saving the world.
10 Minutes With...
Mr Henry Atkinson
Consultant
Orthopaedic Surgeon
Secretary: Mandy O’Conor
T: 08445 617 157
F: 08445 617 157
henry.atkinson@sportsortho.
co.uk
Mr Henry Atkinson qualified in
Medicine from the University
of Edinburgh in July 1998, and
completed basic surgical training
in Edinburgh on the South East
of Scotland BST rotation,
attaining the Membership of
the Royal College of Surgeons
of Edinburgh (MRCS) in 2001.
He became Fellow of the Royal
College of Surgeons (FRCS) in
Trauma and Orthopaedics in
2006, and completed his
Specialist Registrar training in
Trauma and Orthopaedics on
the Imperial College North West
Thames rotation in July 2008.
Henry has also had Fellowship
training in Sports Medicine
and Knee and Hip Surgery
at SportsMed SA, Adelaide,
Australia; Foot and Ankle
Surgery at St Michaels Hospital,
University of Toronto, Ontario,
Canada; and Trauma and Limb
Reconstruction at the Banjica
Special Hospital for Orthopaedic
Surgery, Belgrade, Serbia.
Mr Atkinson was appointed
as a Consultant Orthopaedic
and Trauma Surgeon at North
Middlesex University Hospital
in September 2009. In recent
years, Mr Atkinson has assisted
in the publication of many
scientific papers in a variety
of subject areas.
London Bridge
Hospital’s GP
Liaison Team
For those of you who know us well, you
will be aware of how the GP Liaison
service can help you. However, for those
of you who may be unfamiliar with how
we work, our GP Liaison Team offers the
following support to our referring General
Practitioners:
GP Liaison Assistant Team
• A dedicated phone line, 020 7234 2009, open 8.30am –
6.00pm, Monday to Friday for you, your secretaries and
patients.
• A fast, efficient appointments service. We can deal with
both named and unnamed referrals (i.e. Dear Consultant
Cardiologist).
• A helpful, friendly team ready to deal with any questions that
you or your patients may have about the hospital.
• A promise to help you and your patients as much as we can,
even if this means making an appointment with a competitor.
GP Liaison Officer Team
A GP Liaison Officer dedicated to your area offers the following:
• Organising educational events on areas of interest to Primary
Care. These can be both large scale and bespoke smaller scale.
• Keeping you in touch with the hospital and any new
developments/services.
• A personal contact point at the hospital for any issues
that may arise.
Call the GP Liaison Team on:
020 7234 2009
or email: gpliaisonlbh@hcahealthcare.co.uk
Your Feedback:
We are constantly striving to improve our service offering.
We would be delighted to hear from you with any ideas as
to how we could do this. Please feel free to contact your
GP Liaison Officer.
The Referral Process
through GP Liaison
Phone call
from GP/Sec
to GPL*
Fax from
GP/Sec to
GPL
Ensure all
paperwork with
secretary prior to
appointment
Patient
attends GP
consultation
Referral
recommended
GPL call
patient for
availability
GPL liaise with
Consultants’
secretaries
Call patient
to offer
appointment
=
Appointment
made
Encrypted
email from
GP/Sec to
GPL
If you wish, we
can inform you
when appointment
is confirmed
GP directs
patient to
contact
GPL
* Please note: To save you time, we only need minimum
details when you contact us: the patient’s name, date of birth,
contact telephone number, the specialty to which you are
referring them and brief details of their condition.
GP Liaison Team
NINETEEN
GP Liaison Team