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Surgical Services
Referral and treatment
Contact: (0191) 223 1452 - Liesl Smith and Carol Gair, HPB Nurse Specialists
Your referral to the Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Team
When the doctor who is currently treating you decides to ask for an opinion from the specialist team at the Freeman Hospital, they will contact the ‘Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Team’ or they may write to a specific consultant.
Alternatively you can contact the HPB Team yourself. We will then either, arrange to see you straight away in the clinic or arrange for you to have some further investigations first. Sometimes you may be transferred from another hospital (also known as a tertiary referral).
At this point, one of our Consultants will take charge of your care within the Freeman Hospital. Our Consultants will work very closely together to ensure that there are no unnecessary delays in your treatment. Our aim is to treat you effectively and efficiently.
The consultant in charge of your care has a team of doctors who work with him and when you come to clinic or into the hospital you may also be seen by members of his team. The consultant will, however, be in charge of your care.
The Multidisciplinary Team Meeting
An important part of the management of your care is the Multidisciplinary Team meeting, which is held on a Thursday morning and is described below. Between 9am and 12 noon all of our team members (radiologists, surgeons, gastroenterologists, oncologists, nurses) meet to discuss the care of patients who are undergoing treatment and/or investigations or have recently been referred to the Freeman Hospital HPB Team.
This gives every patient in our care the opportunity to have their treatment reviewed by all members of our team. It ensures that the treatment that we deliver to you is the best that we can offer. It will also help speed up the organisation of any further investigations that you might need. It is very important for your care that your case is discussed at the HPB Team multidisciplinary team meeting.
When your case has been discussed at this meeting, your own consultant will let you know the outcome as soon as possible.
Contact us
If you need more information about what is happening about your referral, you can contact the secretary of the consultant in charge of your care or one of our Nurse Specialists. The telephone numbers are as follows:
| Contact Name | Telephone Number |
| Liesl Smith and Carol Gair, HPB Nurse Specialists | (0191) 223 1452 |
| Hayley Wigney, secretary to Mr B Jacques, Consultant Surgeon | (0191) 213 7144 |
| Janice Clarkson, secretary to Mr R Charnley, Consultant Surgeon | (0191) 213 7147 |
| Dianne Richards, secretary to Mr S White, Consultant Surgeon | (0191) 213 7074 |
| Gail Pretorius, secretary to Mr D Manas, Consultant Surgeon | (0191) 223 1192 |
