Hepatology
The Hepatology Service aims to provide a high standards of acute medical care for patients with liver disease as well as a high standard of continuity of care for patients requiring both short term follow up and those with chronic disease. This is delivered across The Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and Princess Royal Hospital.
The Hepatology Service places particular emphasis on the benefit of multi-disciplinary and multi-agency working in the care and services it provides and strives to provide a fully integrated package of care for patients with a diverse range of hepatology conditions.
The Hepatology service at Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust is IQILS accredited. Improving Quality In Liver Services is a programme designed to support improvement in liver services in the UK. It is supported by the British Association for the Study of the Liver (BASL) and the British Society of Gastroenterologists (BSG) and also works in partnership with the liver Community, professional bodies and patient organisations.
The Hepatology service is led by a team of 1 consultant with an additional 2 Gastro consultants who have an interest in Hepatology. The Hepatology service also has 2 Senior Clinical Nurse Specialists as part of its core clinical team and support from liver nurses . Collectively the clinical team are responsible for providing clinical care for our patient population, as well as specialist advice for other patient cohorts during acute admission to hospital.
Current services include looking after patients with a variety of liver conditions including:
- Acute and subacute liver failure
- Alcohol related liver disease
- Assessment of abnormal liver function tests
- Autoimmune related liver disease including Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis, Primary Biliary Cholangitis, autoimmune hepatitis and IgG4 related disease
- Bile duct abnormalities
- Congenital liver disease
- Gall bladder disease
- Hepatobiliary and pancreatic malignancies
- Inherited and metabolic liver disease including: Wilson’s disease, alpha-1-antitrysin deficiency, haemochromatosis and glycogen storage diseases
- Liver cirrhosis and its complications
- Liver tumours (benign and malignant)
- Non-alcohol related liver disease
- Vascular liver disease e.g. Budd-Chiari syndrome
- Viral hepatitis
We also provide a number of specialist services for people with liver disease, such as:
- GI endoscopy, including treatment of portal hypertension related bleeding with variceal band ligation, histoacryl glue injection and DANIS stent placement
- Percutaneous and transjugular liver biopsies
- Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) and endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)
- Day case paracentesis
- Assessment of hepatopulmonary syndrome and psychometric testing for minimal encephalopathy
- Prison clinics and direct outreach clinics at the drug and alcohol services and homeless shelters in several locations throughout Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin
- Transient elastography
We work closely with other centres to ensure patients receive specialist care. Our dedicated referral centre for liver disease is the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham. Assessment and treatment may include:
- Liver transplant assessment and pre and post-operative care
- Liver resection for tumours using open and laparoscopic approaches
- Transarterial chemoembolisation (TACE)
- Ablation of liver tumours using radiofrequency and microwave techniques
- Hepatic venous wedge pressure (HVPG) measurements
- Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunting (TIPS)
Clinical Research
There is an an active and growing clinical research programme offering patients the opportunity to be part of clinical trials. The team work across both hospital sites and is available Monday to Friday, 8am-5pm. To get in touch with them please call 01952 641222 ext 5764 or email sath.research@nhs.net.
Key Info
Contact Us
01743 261000
A voice mail service is available for out of hours enquiries. The advice line is an answerphone service and not for emergencies. If appropriate, a nurse specialist will return your call as soon as possible.
The outpatient appointments team can be contacted within working hours on 01743 261000