Time	Session	Speaker
09:00 – 09:30	Registration
09:30 – 09:40	Welcome & Introduction	Dr Matthew Kurien
Session 1:  Bowel Cancer in our region Chairs: Dr Alex Ball, Mr Arun Loganathan
09:40 – 09:50	What are the challenges in SYB?	Mr Keith Chapple
09:50 – 10:00	Early Detection of Bowel cancer in Primary Care - A GP’s perspective	Dr Louise Merriman
10:00 – 10:20	Demystifying FIT: A Practical Guide for Primary Care.	Professor James Turvill
10:20 – 10:40	Q & A
10:40 – 11:10	Break
Session 2: Improving FIT Uptake, Safety Netting, and Multidisciplinary Care Chairs: Dr Tom Holdsworth, Dr Matthew Kurien
11:10 – 11:15	Chair introduction to Session 2	Dr Tom Holdsworth, Dr Matthew Kurien
11:15 – 11:25	What are the barriers to FIT uptake?	Mr David Humes
11:25 – 11:35	Safety netting for FIT negative patients - What’s the best approach?	Professor Chris Burton
11:35 – 11:45	Bowel Cancer Screening – what primary care needs to know?	Dr Mark Donnelly
11:45 – 12:05	Q & A
12:05 – 12:10	Introduction to panel session
12:10 – 12:30	Panel Discussion -Tackling the difficult LGI questions Panel to respond to pre-submitted questions/ additional questions Panel: Keith Chapple, Louise Merriman
12:30 – 13:40	Lunch/ Networking
Session 3: Innovative Approaches to aid Cancer Detection Chairs: Dr Steph Edgar, Dr Jon Dickson
13:40 – 13:50	The role of Nurses in Early Cancer Detection	Louise Foster
13:50 – 14:00	Straight-to-Test (STT). What happens in secondary care?	Louise Parsons
14:00 – 14:10	Direct Access to tests from Primary Care for FIT negative patients	Dr Alex Ball
14:10 – 14:20	Managing Non-Specific Symptoms and ongoing concerns about cancer	Dr Viv Sakellariou
14:20 – 14:35	Q & A
14:35 – 15:05	Break
Session 4: You asked, we listened (GP suggested topics) / Future Horizons Chairs: Mr Lee Beecroft, Dr Jennifer Campbell
15:05 – 15:15	Colon Capsule - Fad or Future for Lower GI Cancer Detection	Dr Keith Dear
15:15 – 15:25	Managing symptoms when tests are normal	Dr Imran Aziz
15:25 – 15:35	Two Conditions, One Patient: Opportunities for IBD Detection in CRC Pathways	Dr Alenka Brooks
15:35 – 15:45	Using community pharmacies for early CRC Diagnosis (DETECT-CRC)	Professor Dan Hind
15:45 – 16:00	Q & A
16:00	Closure of Meeting

 

For a downloadable version of the agenda, click here.

Dr Imran Aziz

Dr Imran Aziz is a Senior Lecturer and Consultant Gastroenterologist in Sheffield. His clinical and research interests are in the field of functional gastrointestinal disorders. He has co-authored the British Society of Gastroenterology guidelines on the management of irritable bowel syndrome and functional dyspepsia, published 4 book chapters and 90 peer-reviewed scientific papers with a H-index of 30.

 

In 2021, Imran was awarded the United European Gastroenterology Rising Star Award, a prize recognizing promising young clinician-scientists across Europe for their excellent academic track record. He serves on the editorial board of Gastroenterology, the premiere international journal in the field of GI diseases. He is also chair of the Rome Partners Group, whose mission statement is to foster an international partnership between the Rome Foundation and early to mid-career healthcare providers interested in Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders.

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Dr Alex Ball

Alex Ball is a Consultant Gastroenterologist at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals and trained in South Yorkshire. He completed an MD on improving the quality of colonoscopy with many peer reviewed publications. His clinical interests include endoscopy in particular complex polypectomy. He has been the Clinical Lead for Endoscopy since 2020 and was previously the Medical Lead for the Lower GI cancer pathway and introduced the straight to test colonoscopy pathway into the Trust.

 

 

 

 

 

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Dr Alenka Brooks

Dr Alenka Brooks is a Consultant Gastroenterologist & Associate Medical Director for Young People’s Services at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.  Alenka is a specialist in Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), with a longstanding interest in improving care & life outcomes for young people with IBD.  She leads the IBD Transition Service having completed her PhD investigating psychological morbidity in young people with IBD and published the national British Society of Gastroenterology (BSG) Transition Guidelines for young people with gastrointestinal disease.  Alenka is a former chair of the Trainees Section of the BSG and in recognition of contributions to the Society she was awarded the BSG President's Medal and named BSG Emerging Leader, Young Gastroenterologist of the Year.  Alenka has received national awards for her innovative work championing gender equality in healthcare regionally and nationally, receiving Personal, Fair & Diverse Champion Individual Award by NHS Employers.

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Chris Burton

Chris Burton is an academic GP whose research has included work on GP referrals for suspected cancer and on symptoms and reassurance. He worked for many years as a semi-rural GP in South West Scotland, gained his MD at the University of Edinburgh and worked at the University of Aberdeen before moving to The University of Sheffield in 2017.

 

 

 

 

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Dr Jen Campbell

Jennifer graduated from the University of Sheffield Medical School in 2007. She completed her registrar training in South Yorkshire, which included a research and endoscopy fellowship focused on endoscopic ultrasound and Barrett's endotherapy. Her fellowship was under the supervision of Professor Andrew Hopper. In 2017, Jennifer was awarded her Doctor of Medicine degree for her clinical research on pancreatic exocrine insufficiency. She was appointed as a Consultant at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals in 2019, where she specialises in endoscopic ultrasound, therapeutic upper gastrointestinal endoscopy, and bowel cancer screening. As the medical governance lead for gastroenterology, Jennifer is committed to continuously improving the quality of care for patients. Outside of work, she is a mother of two young children and enjoys running, specifically parkrun.

 

 

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Keith Chapple

Keith Chapple is a Consultant in General and Colorectal Surgery who works at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Appointed in 2008 he has an established practice in colorectal cancer surgery, undertook a PhD into mechanisms underlying colorectal cancer formation and has published widely on colorectal cancer diagnosis and treatment. He is the current chair of the South Yorkshire & Bassetlaw Lower Gastrointestinal Cancer Clinical Delivery Group.

 

 

 

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Dr Keith Dear

Dr Keith Dear started as a consultant Gastroenterologist in CRH in 2001. He was involved in the setting up one of the first wave of bowel cancer screening centres in Derbyshire and subsequently involved in developing Bowel scope screening services in the region. He brought small bowel capsule to Chesterfield around 20 years ago and trained in colon capsule endoscopy to keep up his interests during the Covid pandemic as part of NHS England's pilot of colon capsule. He is clinical lead for endoscopy at Chesterfield and involved in assessments of standards in endoscopy units through JAG. His interests include advanced endoscopy, endoscopy training and quality control in endoscopy. 

Outside work Keith enjoys the outdoors on two wheels or two feet.

 

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Dr Jon Dickson

Dr Jon Dickson is an academic GP.  He undertakes clinical practice at Primary Care Sheffield (Heeley Green Surgery) and his academic work is based at the University of Sheffield as a Senior Clinical Lecturer.  He uses qualitative and quantitative methods to investigate health service delivery problems.  He has worked on a range of topics including epilepsy, dementia, sepsis, hypertension, abnormal uterine bleeding, gluten ataxia, Parkinson's disease and PTSD. 

 

 

 

 

 

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Dr Mark Donnelly

Dr Mark Thomas Donnelly qualified in medicine from the University of Sheffield in 1989, became a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians in 2005, and was appointed Consultant Gastroenterologist at the Northern General Hospital, Sheffield in 1999. He has helped establish Sheffield as an endoscopy training centre, taught extensively on endoscopy courses, and has a special interest in bowel cancer screening, including serving on national committees. Dr Donnelly is married with two grown children, loves to travel and experience different cultures and cuisines, and is passionate about Everton Football Club and cricket.

 

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Dr Steph Edgar

Dr Steph Edgar works clinically as a GP Partner in Barnsley and also in a dual role for the SYB Cancer Alliance and Cancer Research UK as the Deputy Primary Care Lead. Primarily, Steph is involved in the Early Diagnosis work stream, and Chairs the Primary Care Clinical Delivery Group. 

Out of work, Steph is kept busy with her three children and enjoys walking in the hills of the Peak District. 

 

 

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Professor Dan Hind

Dan Hind is Professor of Evaluation and Assistant Director of the Sheffield Clinical Trials Research Unit in the School of Medicine and Population Health at the University of Sheffield. He has been an applied health researcher for over 20 years, conducting work for the Department of Health, NHS England, the Medical Research Council. He has just taken on a role as lead for Research Partnerships and is keen to help The University forge links with communities, services and companies with an interest in improving access to, experience and outcomes of healthcare.

 

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Tom Holdsworth

Job Title: Clinical Director PCS Group Practices, Townships 1 Primary Care Network (PCN) Clinical Director, Chair of Sheffield PCN Clinical Directors, General Practitioner.

I have been interested in how primary care can work in innovative and collaborative ways since 2016 when I became the lead for the Townships Neighbourhood. This subsequently became the Townships 1 primary care network where I have been able to support development of new services, new ways of working and collaboration across different partner organisations.

Since November 2023 I have also been working as the Clinical Director of Sheffield Primary Care Group Practices.  This has given me great insights in to working with a wide variety of different patient populations.

I have an interest in clinical leadership. I am invested in creating an approach to health that values health creation, is co-ordinated across multiple sectors and includes those organisations not traditionally recognised as important for health and wellbeing.

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Mr David Humes BSc MBBS PhD MSc FRCS

Associate Professor of Surgical Epidemiology/Deputy Divisional Director of Surgery/Robotic Colorectal Surgeon.

Mr Humes heads a research group focusing on the use of routinely collected data to study the occurrence and consequences of surgical diseases alongside delivering studies on the use of novel interventional and diagnostic devices. He has supervised 6 PhD’s to completion and his current research group includes 4 PhD students, 2 NIHR Academic Clinical Fellows and a data analyst. He has been awarded over £3.6 million in grant funding and published 112 peer-reviewed publications with a current H-index of 39 (Google Scholar). He has implemented the symptomatic FIT pathway in Nottingham and this is an active research area currently using National and International data. He is the current research lead for the Joint Committee on Higher Surgical Training and Academic Career Development lead in the NIHR BRC in Nottingham. His clinical practice focuses on robotic colorectal and anal cancer surgery.

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Dr Matthew Kurien

Dr Matthew Kurien is a Senior Clinical Lecturer and Honorary Consultant Gastroenterologist at the University of Sheffield, pursuing impactful research on early bowel cancer detection while also caring for patients. Since qualifying in 2003, he has been recognised through awards, guidelines contributions, and over £1.3 million in grant funding. He is the current Medical Lead for the Lower GI Cancer pathway at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals and is member of the British Society of Gastroenterology Colorectal Committee.

 

Outside of work, Matthew is a passionate Liverpool FC supporter, dog owner and a taxi service to his two boys. He also unwinds by competing in Fantasy Premier League (FPL) with friends and hopes of finally winning his local league this year!

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Dr Louise Merriman

I trained at The Middlesex Hospital in London and qualified in 1987. I have been a GP for over 30 years and a clinical lead in cancer of 20 years.

I am currently one of the Clinical Directors at SYB Cancer Alliance, particularly interested in the front end of suspected cancer pathways and the interface between Primary and Secondary Care.

 

 

 

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Louise Parsons

Sister Louise Parsons is an Advanced Nurse Practitioner at Doncaster and Bassetlaw NHS Trust. Louise has been working within the South Yorkshire NHS service for over 30 years and has a wealth of experience in multiple surgical and emergency environments.

Currently manages an eight member Faster Diagnostic Service (FDS) for General Surgery and Gastroenterology in Doncaster and Bassetlaw Hospitals. The service was set up in 2019 and Louise has been the lead for this team since its inception. The FDS team in Doncaster has earnt national recognition for achieving some of the highest FDS target rates in the UK.

 

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Dr Viv Sakellariou

Dr Viv Sakellariou started in CRH as a consultant gastroenterologist in 2008 and has been a Bowel Screening Programme colonoscopist since 2019. 

Viv has been the Clinical Lead for the Faster Diagnostic Services since 2021 and the CRH Clinical Lead for the Galleri trial since 2021. Since January 2023 she has been delivering the Non Specific Site services in CRH.

 

 

 

 

 

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Georgia Thompson

Georgia has been a qualified nurse for over 30 years and spent much of her clinical practice working in Lower GI. This included time as a Colorectal Nurse Practitioner, Stoma Nurse and Nurse Endoscopist. She was previously the Colorectal MDT Lead Nurse at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and delivered nurse-led ‘2 week wait’ and Colorectal Cancer follow-up clinics. Continuing her interest in Colorectal Diseases, she is the Lower GI Pathway Improvement Lead for the SYB Cancer Alliance.

 

 

 

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Professor James Turvill

James Turvill is a consultant gastroenterologist at York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS FT and honorary professor at HYMS. He has a research interest in the early diagnosis of bowel disease working initially with faecal calprotectin and more recently FIT. During the covid pandemic he has collaborated in the NHS England pilots as Co-CI in the evaluation of CCE in symptomatic and surveillance patients. He has since initiated allied studies to assess the patient experience and the health economic benefits of CCE. He is also the CI of the PinPoint study.

James is the Clinical Director for Research and Innovation at the Trust and has a particular focus on supporting the workforce to embed research within clinical practice. He is the subspeciality lead for Screening, Prevention and Early Detection research for the Y&H CRN.

 

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For a downloadable list of panel members, please click here.

If you require a biography from a Speaker or Chair that isn't featured here, please contact Chloe.Wells14@nhs.net 

Alex Ball (Sheffield Teaching Hospitals)

Erin Brady (SYB Cancer Alliance)

Keith Chapple (Sheffield Teaching Hospitals)

Julia Jessop (SYB Cancer Alliance)

Matthew Kurien (University of Sheffield / Sheffield Teaching Hospitals)

Karen Leivers (SYB Cancer Alliance)

Louise Merriman (Primary Care/ SYB Cancer Alliance)

Georgia Thompson (SYB Cancer Alliance)

Chloe Wells (SYB Cancer Alliance)