In the final episode of the series, Lydia and Lucy welcome Mr Richard Berrisford, a Consultant Oesophagogastric Surgeon at Derriford Hospital in Plymouth, and learn about his lifelong calling to surgery. His journey led him through medical school at Leeds, with early experiences in Papua New Guinea and Sierra Leone, where he worked with limited resources to provide life-saving care, an experience he describes as both humbling and transformative. Reflecting on his career, Mr Berrisford shares the challenges and rewards of working as a single-handed thoracic surgeon, setting up a new unit in Exeter, and later adapting his practice to focus on oesophago-gastric surgery. He speaks about mentorship and the human side of medicine, especially in dealing with mistakes.

To get in touch with the show, please email [email protected] or use twitter handle @ALSGBI_podcast

In this second of two episodes about ALSGBI Traveling Fellowships, hosts Lucy and Lydia are once again joined by Lisa Massey, a colorectal surgeon from Nottingham, and Andrew Curry, an upper GI surgeon from Derby. We dive further into their fellowship experiences, where Lisa trained in Belgium and Andrew in France. They share insights on setting up these opportunities, the value of networking and introductions, and practical advice on planning for fellowships. Additionally, they discuss how these experiences have refreshed their enthusiasm for surgery and provided new perspectives during their training.

To get in touch with the show, please email [email protected] or use twitter handle @ALSGBI_podcast

In this episode of hosts Lucy and Lydia are joined by Lisa Massey, a colorectal surgeon from Nottingham, and Andrew Curry, an upper GI surgeon from Derby, to discuss their experiences with the ALSGBI Traveling Fellowships. They share insights from their international fellowships in Belgium and France, respectively. They discuss the motivations behind their travels, the unique learning environments abroad, and how they adapted to new medical systems. Both surgeons reflect on the challenges of balancing finances and family while abroad, as well as the impact their experiences have had on their practices today.

To get in touch with the show, please email [email protected] or use twitter handle @ALSGBI_podcast

In this episode Lydia and Lucy are joined again by Mr Mohamed Aly, Consultant Upper GI Surgeon at The Hillingdon Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in northwest London along with Mr Alan ASKARI, Consultant Surgeon in Bariatric, Upper GI, & General Surgery at Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Their conversation covers various aspects of surgical training, including the balance between competency-based learning and meeting numerical targets, the challenges of the current training system and strategies for trainees to make the most of their learning experiences.

To get in touch with the show, please email [email protected] or use twitter handle @ALSGBI_podcast

In this episode Lydia and Lucy are joined by Mr Mohamed Aly, Consultant Upper GI Surgeon at The Hillingdon Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in northwest London. They discuss his passion for quality improvement (QI) in surgical training and his journey from conducting patient surveys in medical school in Egypt to spearheading national collaborative audits in the UK. He emphasises the importance of believing in one's projects to motivate others and the necessity of knowing when to accept and move on from ideas that aren't progressing. They also touch on practical aspects of QI, such as developing patient surveys, navigating ethical approvals and leveraging IT systems like SharePoint to manage data.

To get in touch with the show, please email [email protected] or use twitter handle @ALSGBI_podcast

In this episode, hosts Lucy and Lydia chat with their colleague Mr Mark Halls, a Consultant Upper GI Surgeon, North Bristol NHS Trust. Mark shares insights into balancing exercise with a busy surgical career, detailing his journey from playing rugby to long-distance triathlons. He discusses the challenges of fitting exercise around surgical training, offers advice for incorporating fitness into daily routines and emphasises the mental health benefits of outdoor exercise.

To get in touch with the show, please email [email protected] or use twitter handle @ALSGBI_podcast

In this podcast episode, Mr Dimitri Pournaras, a consultant and bariatric surgeon at North Bristol Trust, discusses his journey into medicine and his experiences with bariatric surgery. He shares insights into the physiological aspects of obesity, the mechanisms behind surgeries like gastric bypass and sleeve gastrectomy, and how these procedures impact hunger hormones and brain signalling. He also emphasises the importance of listening to patients and explains how bariatric surgery goes beyond mere mechanical alterations, influencing the body's physiological responses to food intake.

To get in touch with the show, please email [email protected] or use twitter handle @ALSGBI_podcast

To get in touch with the show, please email [email protected] or use twitter handle @ALSGBI_podcast

In this second episode with guests Mr Simon Higgs and Mr Steve Hornby, Lucy and Lydia delve further into robotic surgery at Gloucester Royal Hospital. They discuss the training process for robotic surgery, recalling their first cases and the challenges they faced. The conversation also touches on patient experiences, press coverage of significant surgeries and the future of robotics in surgery.

To get in touch with the show, please email [email protected] or use twitter handle @ALSGBI_podcast

In the first of two podcast episodes with Mr Simon Higgs and Mr Steve Hornby, consultant surgeons at Gloucester Royal Hospital, Lucy and Lydia discuss the hospital's pioneering use of robotics in surgical procedures, particularly in upper gastrointestinal surgeries. They detail the hospital's journey in adopting robotic technology, emphasising evidence-based practice, patient safety and careful progression in training and implementation. They also highlight the collaborative team effort and the challenges and opportunities for trainees in integrating robotics into surgical training.

To get in touch with the show, please email [email protected] or use twitter handle @ALSGBI_podcast