04 September 2014
Bristol Royal Hospital for Children welcomes new specialist
The South West's dedicated children's hospital has welcomed a
new member of staff to its expert clinical team.
Consultant paediatric cardiac anaesthetist Dr Tim Murphy has
joined the staff at Bristol Royal Hospital for Children from the
Freeman Hospital in Newcastle.
Dr Murphy's area of speciality is relatively unusual - out of
the several thousand anaesthetists in the UK, probably fewer than
one to two per cent are formally trained in paediatric cardiac
anaesthesia. Across the nine paediatric cardiac surgical
centres in England, this means there are currently fewer than 60
paediatric cardiac anaesthetists.
Dr Murphy's route into medicine was also an unusual one. After
studying for a degree in politics, philosophy and economics at
Oxford, he worked as an investment banker for four years, starting
his medical degree at the age of 27, at the medical school of St
Bartholomew's Hospital in London.
After training in London for four years, and then as a registrar
in and around the Bristol area, Dr Murphy's first job as a
registrar was in Cheltenham. Now, seven years later, he has
returned to the south west to take up his new role.
He said: "It's fantastic to be working at such a big, modern
children's hospital, where all the services and specialities are
under one roof and to be joining a team of experts who are
challenged with treating sick children who often present with
highly complex and life threatening conditions.
"I did a lot of my training at Bristol and really enjoyed my
time here, so it's very nice to come back, and to work with some of
the people who helped train me and set me on this path - Drs Ian
Jenkins, Pat Weir and Pete Murphy in particular. I look forward to
helping build on the vast expertise that has been built up here
over many years to really cement Bristol's reputation as a centre
for excellence."
Dr Murphy has also worked closely with cardiac surgeon Professor
Massimo Caputo, as the pair have previously visited Trinidad to
help treat children with cardiac conditions there.
Dr Bryony Strachan, clinical chair for Women's and Children's
Services at University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust,
said: "We're delighted to welcome Dr Murphy to our team. He brings
a high level of skill and a wealth of experience which will
complement the dedicated and skilled clinical teams at the Bristol
Royal Hospital for Children. We look forward to working with
him."
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