Meet the team

Chester is the Hospital Director of Practice Plus Group Hospital, Emersons Green and Practice Plus Group Surgical Centre, Devizes.

Having studied Maths and Statistics at the University of Exeter, Chester subsequently gained financial management and leadership experience in a range of business sectors.

Since 1995, Chester has worked in the UK independent healthcare sector.

Chester is particularly interested in developing a streamlined and efficient patient experience. He is passionate about implementing best practice, and delivering the highest quality service to patients.

Michelle has over 30 years of nursing experience in both clinical and managerial positions in the UK and overseas. Having worked in both NHS and private organisations she is a clinical expert with a wide range of experience.

She has a strong background in Surgery, Theatres and Anaesthesia and has also worked in positions leading Infection Control teams along with Mental Health.

Michelle is responsible for leading our clinical teams prioritising patient safety, quality and patient experience to ensure the centres are safe, effective, caring, responsive and well led.

Mike Burnett is Operations Manager across Practice Plus Group Hospital, Emersons Green and Practice Plus Group Surgical Centre, Devizes. He is responsible for managing all aspects of non-clinical running of the centres including booking, cleaning, catering, laundry as well as supporting the centres to ensure efficiencies. Mike initially trained as a Sports Physiotherapist and graduated from UWE in 2010. Following this he started working with Practice Plus Group’s 111 service whilst building up his own private practice. Since then Mike has worked across a number of roles within Practice Plus Group, working across all 9 of the Practice Plus Group Hospitals, gaining a wealth of operational knowledge which he brings to Emersons Green and Devizes.

Name: Orsolya Kovacs
Job Title: Consultant Anaesthetist
Year of first medical qualification: 1997
Year of becoming a specialist: 2002

Professional profile:
Dr Kovacs graduated from Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary in 1997. Following her graduation, she worked as a trainee anaesthetist and intensive care physician at the Szent Rokus County Hospital, Budapest, and after completing her training she passed her specialty exam in 2002.

She was appointed as Consultant Anaesthetist at the National Institute of Neurosurgery, Budapest in 2003. Dr Kovacs became the Diplomate of the European Society of Anaesthesiology in 2007. In 2008 she spent six months working within the Anaesthesia Department at the North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Trust, Stockton on Tees.

She has worked as a Consultant Anaesthetist in the UK since 2009 and joined UK Specialist Hospitals (now Practice Plus Group) as Consultant Anaesthetist in 2011.

Name: Mr Csaba Marafko MD, MSc, FRCS
Job title: Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon
Specialty: Orthopaedics, Sports Medicine
Special interests: Hip and knee replacement, knee arthroscopy, foot/hand surgery and sports injuries
Year of first medical qualification: 1988
Year of becoming a specialist: 1993

Professional profile:
Mr Marafko has been practicing orthopaedic surgery for more than 20 years. He underwent specialist training in Orthopaedics, Sports Medicine, Manual Therapy, Shock Wave Therapy and Acupuncture. He completed a postgraduate MSc in Sports Injury at Manchester Metropolitan University (UK).

He has participated in many national and international courses including Exeter Hip Course, Primary TKR and Revision (Austria/Germany), Arthrex Knee and Shoulder Course (London), ACL and Multiligament Knee Course (London), 3rd Liverpool Foot Course, Intermediate Ankle Training Course (Switzerland), Surgery of the Adult Foot & Ankle (London), Stanmore Shoulder Series (London), Minimal Invasive Foot Surgery (Spain), Foot & Ankle Cadaver Course (Liverpool).

His excellent National Joint Registry (NJR) results have been published in the UK. He has numerous presentations and publications.

Membership of professional, national and regional bodies:
Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons (FRCS)
Member of the British Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society (BOFAS)
Member of the Hungarian Medical Chamber
Member of the Hungarian Orthopaedic Association
Member of the Hungarian Society of Sports Medicine

Name: Mr Jozsef Nemes

Job title: Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon

GMC number: 6148642

Specialty: Orthopaedics

Special interests: Hip and knee replacement, knee arthroscopy and ACL surgery

Year of first medical qualifications: 1982

Year of becoming a specialist: 1986

Year of joining Practice Plus Group: 2009

Languages spoken: English, Hungarian, German, Russian.

Personal interests: Ironman challenges, cycling, acoustic guitar

Professional profile: Mr Nemes graduated in 1982 at the Semmelweis University, Budapest. Having finished his specialality training in trauma and orthopaedics he completed a fellowship programme at the Orthopaedic Faculty of Bochum University, Germany and the Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden from arthroscopic knee ACL, shoulder and sports surgery.

Mr Nemes worked for the Teaching Hospital of Szeged University, Hungary for more than 25 years, and was appointed as Head of the Orthopaedic Department in 2004 and became a member of the Hungarian National Board of Orthopaedics. Dr Nemes pioneered operative hip arthroscopies and performed the first hip resurfacing in his home country in 2005 before moving to the UK in 2006 where he worked as a Consultant at the Greater Manchester Surgical Centre.

At Practice Plus Group, Mr Nemes has a strong focus on anatomic anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction with cutting edge instruments and implants using state of the art methods. He takes joy in significantly improving patient’s quality of life following major surgery.

Membership of professional, national or regional bodies:

Hungarian Medical Association

Hungarian Orthopaedic Legion

AGA Society of Arthroscopy and Joint Surgery

ESSKA: European ~Society of Sports Traumatology and Knee Surgery

Name: Mr Mariusz Korycki MD
Job title: Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon
Specialty: Orthopaedics, Traumatology
Special interests: Joint replacements, shoulder surgery, upper limb surgery
Year of first medical qualification: 1982
Year of becoming a specialist: 1997

Professional profile:
Mr Mariusz Korycki achieved his medical degree in 1982 and joined the NHS in 1989. He qualified as a consultant in 1997 – specialising in orthopaedics and trauma. He trained in Warsaw, Poland for seven years and later completed his training in the UK.

Before joining Practice Plus Group, Mr Korycki spent 11 years at the Great Western NHS Hospital, Swindon, working in trauma and orthopaedics. He has performed in excess of 2,000 joint replacement procedures and has completed many hands on training courses relating to shoulder surgery.

Membership of professional, national and regional bodies:
Medical Defence Union (MDU)
General Medical Council (GMC)

Name: Mr Kenan Dehne

Job title: Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon

GMC number: 6084753

Specialty: Orthopaedics

Special interests: Lower limb Arthroplasty. Soft tissue knee surgery and hip preservation surgery.

Year of first medical qualifications: 1999

Year of becoming a specialist: 2004

Year of joining Practice Plus Group: 2018

Languages spoken: English, Arabic

Personal interests: Walking, cycling, swimming, chess and is a member of a mountain cycling club.

Professional profile:

Mr Kenan Dehne has extensive experience in lower limb reconstructive surgery including total hip replacement, total knee replacement, uni-compartmental knee replacement and Knee Arthroscopy. He graduated from Damascus University where he practiced in Orthopaedics and Trauma before moving to the UK in 2004 where is has worked in NHS Trusts in Bath, Cotswolds, West Midlands, Wales and the North West and then joining Practice Plus Group.

He became a fellow of the European Board of Orthopaedic and Traumatology in 2014 and was elected a fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons FRCS (Tr and Orth) in 2015. He is Fellowship trained at the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital in Birmingham and at Wirral University Teaching Hospital.

Mr Dehne is actively involved in research related to the Enhanced Recovery Programme for patients following a hip or knee replacement, which aims to provide patients with a smoother recovery, along with various other subjects. You will find Mr Dehne’s research work published in many prestigious orthopaedic journals and presented in international and national meetings.

At Practice Plus Group, Mr Dehne believes in excellent bedside care and providing the patient with the best quality of life possible following surgical intervention. He takes joy in seeing the visible, direct and amazing impact that orthopaedic surgery can make on individuals’ day-to-day lives.

Awards received:

2nd Prize: Summer Scottish Committee for Trauma and Orthopaedics (SCOT)

Manning Prize for Best Presentation: Pott Annual Scientific Meeting; November 2016

Top candidate at Wrightington Lower Limb FRCS orth course

Distinction from supervising tutors, Master degree in Orthopaedic Surgery by research (Honours)

Special Honorary Prize and certificate from Medical School Dean on graduation

National distinction, Baccalaureate, a full university scholarship for 10 years

Membership of professional, national or regional bodies:

Royal College of Surgeons

Name: Mr  AFW Chambler BSc MBBS  MS FRCS FRCS
Job title: Specialist Shoulder & Elbow Consultant Surgeon
Specialty: Management of sports injuries, tendinopathies and shoulder and elbow arthroplasty.

Mr Chambler has been a Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon in the UK for the past 14 years. He qualified from St Mary’s Hospital medical School, part of Imperial College, in London. Embarking on his surgical career, his interest soon became Orthopaedics and in particular shoulder and elbow surgery, being awarded his Masters of Surgery degree in this area by the University of London in 2000, under the supervision of Professor Roger Emery

He gained his Shoulder & Elbow Fellowship with Professor Carr in Oxford and has since been awarded travelling fellowships to UK & Europe as well as to the world renowned Mayo Clinic in the USA, by the British Elbow & Shoulder Society.

He developed the shoulder & elbow service at Yeovil District Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, concentrating on new advanced arthroscopic techniques and joint replacement but also organising quality control with prospective audit of surgical outcome to ensure the highest level of patient care. He became Clinical Director of Orthopaedics at YDH in 2011.

Whilst continuing at Yeovil, in 2010 he joined CircleBath as a surgical partner to promote a new healthcare provider for the NHS as well as private patients. In 2013 he moved fulltime to Circle as the first Executive Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon working at both the Reading and Bath hospitals. In 2016, he was appointed Clinical Chairman of CircleBath Hospital.

Recently he has been asked to provide a service to King Hamad University Hospital in Bahrain for complex shoulder and elbow problems, visiting 3-4 times per year.

The areas of surgery include the management of sports injuries, tendinopathies and shoulder and elbow arthroplasty. He continues his interest in education and research being faculty for arthroscopic shoulder and elbow courses, peer reviewer for Journals and invited lecturer both national and internationally.

Away from work, Andrew enjoys following sport, skiing and time with his wife and children.

Name: Teresa Anthony
Job title: Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon
Specialty: Ophthalmology
Special interests: Cataract surgery, Occuloplastic surgery

Professional profile:
Dr Anthony completed her postgraduate degree in Ophthalmology in Mumbai, India. She then trained in the UK at a number of the UK’s leading NHS hospitals, resulting in her obtaining the FRCS degree in Ophthalmology. Dr Anthony subsequently sub-specialised in occuloplastic surgery at Moorfields Eye Hospital, London, and is a member of the Royal College of Ophthalmologists.

Dr Anthony is passionate about teaching and training and is a trainer for the Basic Microsurgical course at the Royal College of Ophthalmologists, London, and regularly trains trainees in Cataract surgery and Occuloplastic surgery. She also regularly lectures to other surgeons, GPs and nurses. She keeps up with recent advances in ophthalmology by attending national and international conferences, and has had several scientific papers and posters presented at these.

Membership of professional, national and regional bodies:
Member of the Royal College of Ophthalmologists.

Name: Paula Sabino dos Santos
Job title: Consultant General Surgeon
Specialty: General Surgery
Special interests: Emergency and trauma care, specialised procedures in emergency surgery
Year of first medical qualification: 1990
Year of becoming a specialist: 1999

Professional Profile:
Paula Sabino achieved her medical degree in 1990. Qualifying as a consultant general surgeon in 1999, she worked, since 2000, as Consultant General Surgeon at the Caldas da Rainha Hospital in Portugal.

She took an active role in launching the surgical day care unit at the Caldas da Rainha hospital and treated surgical patients through the Portuguese National Health Service. With a personal interest in emergency and trauma care she also developed specialised procedures in emergency surgery.

Moving to the UK in 2012 she took a role at the Alexandra Hospital, Redditch, before joining the Practice Plus Group team as a Consultant General Surgeon.

Membership of professional, national and regional bodies:
General Medical Council
Portuguese Medical Association (Ordem dos Medicos) – Portuguese College of Surgery
Portuguese Society of Surgery
Portuguese Society of Minimally Invasive Surgery

Name: Mr Ali Raza Haque
Job title: Consultant General Surgeon
Specialty: Orthopaedics, Sports Medicine
Special interests: Upper GI and Laparoscopic (Key-hole) surgery

Professional profile:
Mr Ali Raza Haque is a fully trained Consultant Surgeon with special interests in Upper GI and Laparoscopic (Key-hole) surgery. He has trained in Yorkshire. He completed his higher surgical training in Severn deanery and Wales. He was trained by some of the leading experts in the country.

After this, he spent a period of further training at the internationally recognised centre of excellence for upper GI and laparoscopic surgery in the MATTU centre in Guildford. Where he obtained his fellowship in Minimal Invasive Surgery. He has also completed further brief fellowship periods in IRCAD Strasbourg France for additional training. He recently has completed ‘operation hernia’ missions to rural South Asia. He has been working as consultant surgeon in NHS for the last 5 years. He currently works as consultant surgeon at Frimley Park Hospital.

His main areas of expertise are gallbladder surgery, laparoscopic/open hernia repair and surgical management of Gastro-oesophageal reflux disease. He has performed around 1500 laparoscopic gall bladder and around 1400 laparoscopic/open hernias operation.  He is also proficient in both upper and lower GI endoscopy.

Name: Mr Vaidotas Ruseckas

Job title: Consultant Gastroenterologist & General Surgeon

GMC number: 6129231

Specialty: General surgery and gastroenterology

Special interests: Abdominal and general surgery, emergency, gastrointestinal endoscopy

Year of first medical qualifications: 1986

Year of becoming a specialist: 1987

Year of joining Practice Plus Group: 2017

Languages spoken: English, Russian, Polish, Lithuanian

Professional profile:

Following graduation from Medical University Kaunas in Lithania Mr Vaidotas Ruseckas worked in Kaunas University Hospitals, the largest health care institution in Lithuania, as an Abdominal Surgeon and Endoscopist. Alongside his clinical work he also worked as a Lecturer at the university he had previously studied at.

Following his move to the UK in 2005 he undertook work at many NHS Trusts including hospitals in Cornwall, the Midlands and Newcastle. Mr Ruseckas’s experience spans from urgent and elective abdominal operations including abdominal hernia repair, appendectomy, cholecystectomy, gastrectomy, intestinal/colonic operations, biliary duct exploration along with laparoscopic operations such as appendectomy, cholecystectomy, perforated gastric ulcer; septic abdominal and soft tissue operations.

In Practice Plus Group, Mr Ruseckas is actively involved in gastroenterology audits which have resulted in national Joint Advisory Group (JAG) accreditation for his department. The independent assessment means that the endoscopy service he provides has been recognised to stimulate continuous improvement in processes and patient outcomes. The scheme is regarded as one of the most innovative and effective in the healthcare sector. 

Membership of professional, national or regional bodies:

Member of British Association of Day Surgery

European Digestive Surgery

Lithuanian Society of Surgery

Lithuanian Society of Endoscopy

Lithuanian Society of Minimally Invasive Surgery

Name: Mr Attila Juhasz

Job title: Consultant ENT surgeon

GMC number: 6114663

Specialty: ENT

Special interests: Functional Endoscopic Sinus Surgery (FESS) and rhinoplasty

Year of first medical qualifications: 1993

Year of becoming a specialist: 1997

Year of joining Practice Plus Group: 2009

Languages spoken: English, Hungarian

Personal interests: Mr Juhasz is married with two children

Professional profile: Mr Attila Juhasz is a specialist in ear, nose, throat surgery taking a special interest in complex Functional Endoscopic Sinus Surgery and Rhinoplasty operations. He graduated in Hungary where he also achieved a specialist degree in head and neck surgery (otorhinolaryngology). Alongside his clinical practice Mr Juhasz has undertaken teaching at the higher education level and is ENT Clinical Director across Care UK’s hospital network.

Before joining Care UK, Mr Juhasz worked at Greater Manchester Surgical Centre where he independently provided the ENT service. During this time he was also Chairman of the Medical Advisory Committee for 3 years and Lead ENT Surgeon for 3 years.

As the lead ENT surgeon at Practice Plus Group Hospital, Emersons Green and Practice Plus Group Surgical Centre, Devizes currently. Mr Juhasz has been heavily involved in establishing the ENT service at the hospitals whilst also introducing the service to Shepton Mallet Treatment Centre. He has been actively involved in a new service collaboration with the ophthalmology team, resulting in the launch of the endoscopic DCR service which he also leads.

Awards received: CMI Level 3 Diploma in first Line Management

Membership of professional, national or regional bodies:

European Society of Rhinology

The British Association of Otorhinolaryngologists

Name: Mr Samir Gendy

Job title: Consultant ENT Surgeon

GMC number: 5205259

Specialty: ENT

Special interests: Endoscopic sinus surgery, voice disorders, Benign Head Neck Neoplasm, Otolaryngology

Year of first medical qualifications: 1988

Year of becoming a specialist: 2012

Year of joining Practice Plus Group: 2015

Languages spoken: English, Arabic

Personal interests: Squash, football

Professional profile:

Mr Samir Gendy graduated with honours from Ain Shams Medical School, Cairo, after completing the postgraduate residency programme in Otolaryngology (head and neck surgery) and was awarded a Master degree in Otolaryngology

Mr Gendy went on to become a Fellow of the Royal College in Ireland and subsequently joined the High Surgical Training in Otolaryngology as a Specialist Registrar and was awarded the intercollegiate specialty Exam in Otololaryngology in Glasgow 2007.

He then moved on to become a Head Neck Fellow at Bradford Royal Infirmary with an interest in Benign Head Neck Neoplasm, voice disorders and endoscopic sinus surgery for chronic sinusitis, and nasal polyps. Mr Gendy worked as a Locum Consultant ENT Surgeon at the University Hospitals in Dublin (UCD) and Norwich/Norfolk NHS University Hospitals before joining Care UK.

Alongside clinical practice Mr Gendy has been involved in various educational roles including working as a tutor at the Children’s University Hospital in multiple projects for final year medical students. He has also actively performed a number of audits to better patient care which have in turn been presented nationally.

Membership of professional, national or regional bodies:

Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland

Member of the British Society of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery

Associate Member of the Irish Otolaryngology Society

Name: Mr Ahmed Mohamed

Job title: Consultant Gynaecologist

GMC number: 4489812

Specialty: Gynaecology

Special interests: Urogynaecology and pelvic floor surgery

Year of first medical qualifications: 1981

Year of becoming a specialist: 1987

Year of joining Practice Plus Group: 2010

Languages spoken: English, Egyptian

Personal interests: Football, walking, gardening, running and travelling. Mr Mohamed also fundraises for charities supporting orphans and supplying water to villages in Egypt.

Professional profile:

Mr Ahmed Mohamed performed over 800 day case and inpatient gynaecology procedures for Care UK in the last year, including specialised urogyneacology and pelvic floor procedures. His expertise lies in a range of gynaecology procedures including vulval and vaginal surgery and procedures using abdominal and laparoscopic techniques.

Mr Mohamed trained in Egypt where he gained his specialist qualifications in Obstetrics and Gynaecology, he then moved to England in 1996 where he worked in NHS Trusts in the North West of England, training under renowned Urogynaecologists. Since joining Care UK in 2010 he has been actively involved in developing new services including helping to set up urodynamic and outpatient hysteroscopy clinics, and has worked with other surgeons to reduce the length of hospital stays for gynaecology inpatients.

In his practice, Mr Mohammed takes satisfaction in improving patient’s quality of life. Coming across many anxious patients he prides himself on listening, explaining and seeing things from the patient’s perspective to provide the best possible patient care.

During his career, Mr Mohamed has undertaken a range of research and has been actively involved in managerial and teaching duties, including acting as a Royal College Representative in the Advisory Appointments Committee for Consultants with special interest in Urogynaecology.

Membership of professional, national or regional bodies:

Membership of Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists

Name: William Dartey
Job Title: Consultant Gynaecologist
Specialty: Gynaecology
Special interests: Vaginal and pelvic floor surgery, minimal access surgery

Professional Profile:
Mr Dartey trained at the University of Ghana Medical School where he achieved a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery degree. After practicing internal medicine, trauma/emergency and obstetrics, and gynaecology for a few years he relocated to the UK.

As a postgraduate he achieved his membership from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, MRCOG. Mr Dartey also trained in Groningen in the Netherlands and in the USA.

Mr Dartey has worked in various teaching and district hospitals in England and Scotland and has carried out research as well as writing papers for publication. He is well known in the region having worked at Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton and RUH in Bath for four years.

Experience:
2011 – present Consultant Gynaecologist, Care UK
2010 – 2011 Locum Specialist Registrar/Consultant Gynaecologist, RUH Bath, UK
2008 – 2010 Senior Specialist Registrar, RUH Bath, UK
2007 – 2008 Senior Specialist Registrar, Musgrove Park Hospital, Taunton, UK
2006 – 2007 Senior Specialist Registrar, Birmingham Heartlands, Bradford Teaching Hospitals, St Mary’s Teaching Hospital, Manchester, UK
2003 – 2006 Specialist Registrar/Senior Registrar, Bedford Hospital, Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, UK

Name: Mr Ben Beyqui

Job title: Specialist oral surgeon

GMCGDC number: 66397

Specialty: Oral surgery

Special interests: Chronic facial pain

Year of first medical qualifications: 1984

Year of becoming a specialist: 1998

Year of joining Practice Plus Group: 2017

Languages spoken: English

Professional profile:

Mr Ben Beyqi has more than 30 years experience in Oral Surgery, treating patients in both hospital and primary care settings. He undertook his specialist training at the internationally renowned Eastman Dental and University College Hospitals, receiving his certificate of completion of specialist training in ‘Academic Oral Surgery’ in 1998.

He also received additional training in the United States as a visiting resident at Massachusetts General Hospital, affiliated to Harvard Medical & Dental School as well as University of Chicago Medical Centre. From 2003-2011 he worked as a consultant Oral Surgeon at Birmingham Dental Hospital and was the director of Oral Surgery training programme. He also ran an independent training programme in implant dentistry from 2006-2014 at the Tatum Institute in London. Mr Beyqui’s research in facial pain has been widely published.

At Practice Plus Group, Mr Beyqui puts a strong focus on reducing patient’s anxiety, particularly for patients with a fear of the dentist. Along with his colleagues, he works with the patient, listening, explaining, and using humour where appropriate to put them at ease and as a result helping them become pain-free.

Membership of professional, national or regional bodies:

British Dental Association

Society of Advancement of Anaesthesia in Dentistry

Name: Mr Chris Parker
Job title: Consultant Urologist
Specialty: Urology
Year of first medical qualification: 1979
Year of becoming a specialist: 1993

Professional profile:
Mr Christopher Parker graduated from medical school in 1979 at Guy’s Hospital Medical School, London. He completed his specialist training at the Institute of Urology, London in 1993, then spent over 20 years as an NHS consultant urologist in Somerset.

Membership of professional, national and regional bodies:
British Association of Urological Surgeons
Royal Society of Medicine

Name: Mr Mohammed Othman

Job title: Specialist Oral Surgeon

Specialty: Oral surgery

Special interests: Tooth removal, minor oral surgery

Year of first medical qualifications: 1987

Year of becoming a specialist: 1987

Year of joining Practice Plus Group: 2010

Languages spoken: English

Personal interests: Family, friends, exercise, pursuing a healthy lifestyle and DIY around the home.

Professional profile:

Mr Mohammed Othman qualified from the Dental School at the University of Baghdad in 1987 and worked in specialist centres in Baghdad at the same time as being an army dental officer.

He moved to the UK in 1995 and worked in various NHS Trusts in oral and maxillofacial surgery, including Royal United Hospital, Bath and Gloucestershire Royal Hospital. He obtained his postgraduate Fellowship in the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh.

Before joining Practice Plus Group in his role as Specialist Oral Surgeon, Mr Othman provided oral surgery and dental implants in general practice in the Bristol and Bath area. He now covers out patients and theatre sessions for surgical extraction of teeth under local anaesthetic and sedation.

Mr Othman works as part of the dental / oral surgery team who are committed to delivering excellent patient care with a focus on alleviating any anxiety a patient might have about their treatment. 

Membership of professional, national or regional bodies:

Member of the Royal College of Surgeons

Name: Greg Gerrard
Job Title: Specialist Oral Surgeon
Specialty: Oral Surgery
Research interests: sedation, primary care oral surgery
Year of primary dental qualification: 2004
Year of becoming a specialist: 2012

Professional profile:
Mr Gerrard achieved his primary dental qualification in 2004 and became a specialist in oral surgery in 2012.

He qualified at the University of Sheffield and has worked in numerous hospital posts in oral and maxillofacial surgery before completing his oral surgery training at the Great Western Hospital in Swindon. He is on the Council of the British Association of Oral Surgeons and is heavily involved in the organisation of the annual conference. He teaches oral surgery to postgraduate dentists at the University of Bristol and has research interests in sedation and primary care oral surgery.

Qualifications and memberships of professional, national and regional bodies:
PG Cert in Teaching and Learning for Health Professionals, University of Bristol 2015
MSurgDent, Royal College of Surgeons of England, 2012
MSc in Clinical Leadership, University of Glasgow, 2011
MFDS, Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, 2006
Bachelor of Dental Surgery, University of Sheffield, 2004
Council Member, British Association of Oral Surgeons
General Dental Council Registration 83729

Name: Mr Finn Nesbitt

Job title: Consultant Anaesthetist

GMC number: 6048702

Specialty: Anaesthetics

Special interests: Year of first medical qualifications: 1999

Year of becoming a specialist: 2002

Year of joining Practice Plus Group: 2014

Languages spoken: English

Personal interests: Water sports, trekking, walking, kite surfing, kayaking and climbing

Professional profile:

Mr Finn Nesbitt graduated from the University of Edinburgh and completed training in anaesthesia in London, working in a wide variety of London hospitals and specialist centres. Upon becoming a consultant he has worked in a number of NHS Trusts in Bristol, London and Leeds. He is experienced in acute pain management in all age groups, including the insertion and management of epidurals, setting up and management of morphine and ketamine PCAs and oral analgesia regimens.

At Practice Plus Group Mr Nesbitt also holds the post of Lead Consultant for Resuscitation. He takes daily satisfaction is providing patients with a safe journey whilst they are at the hospital. He puts a strong focus on alleviating patient anxiety, believing that warmth and reassurance, and explaining clearly what will happen during treatment are key to allay any fears,

Mr Nesbitt has carried out many research project related to his work in anaesthetics, including the functional testing of an anaesthesia machine designed to be used in the developing world or in challenging environments – important for delivering safe anaesthetic care around the world.

Membership of professional, national or regional bodies:

Royal College of Anaesthetists

Name: Balint Hargitai
Job Title: Consultant Anaesthetist
Year of first medical qualification: 1996
Year of becoming a specialist: 2001

Professional profile:
Dr Hargitai graduated from the Semmelweis University Budapest, Hungary in 1996. After his graduation he worked as an anaesthetist and intensive care physician, and after five years of training he passed his specialty exam in 2001. In 2002, he joined the first Department of Surgery at the Semmelweis University. He gained widespread experience in different fields of anaesthesia and intensive care. Dr Hargitai became the Diplomate of the European Academy of Anaesthesiology in 2004. Since 2005, he has worked as a consultant anaesthetist in the UK.

Name: Ljudmila Levy
Job Title: Consultant Anaesthetist

Professional profile:
Dr Levy graduated from the Medical Academy of Sofia in Bulgaria and started as an Assistant Doctor at the Department of Paediatrics in Petrich. After moving to the Czech Republic in 1991, she started work as an anaesthetist and obtained first and second degree qualifications in Anaesthesia and Intensive Care in Prague.

Dr Levy has widespread experience in blocks, epidural, spinal and all other fields of anaesthesia, including intensive care, accident and emergency, and in particular regional anaesthesia and nerve blocks.

Name: Mr Peter Kocsis

Job title: Consultant anaesthetist

GMC number: 6165089

Specialty: Anaesthetics

Special interests: Preoperative assessment; emergency medicine; intensive care

Year of first medical qualifications: 1993

Year of becoming a specialist: 1999

Year of joining Practice Plus Group: 2010

Languages spoken: English, Hungarian

Personal interests: Family, pursuing a healthy lifestyle, piano and music

Professional profile: Mr Peter Kocsis graduated at Budapest Semmelweis Medical University and continued to undertake training in anaesthesia and intensive care and  emergency medicine in Budapest. He moved to the UK in 2008 where he has since been working as a Consultant Anaesthetist, he holds the position of Anaesthetic Lead across Practice Plus Group Hospital, Emersons Green and Practice Plus Group Surgical Centre, Devizes.

During Peter’s career he has had the privilege to participate in the revolutionary pre-hospital thrombolytic project and also participated in the pre-hospital urgent temporary life saving pacemaker insertion program. He is the co-author of some national and international publications regarding enhanced recovery and day case surgery/anaesthesia.

Mr Kocsis’s passion for medicine came during his youth when he had an accident and spent many days in hospital, he uses this experience to help have a better understanding how my patients could feel or what they are experiencing.

Content to come.

Name: Svilen Dinev
Job Title: Consultant Anaesthetist
Year of first medical qualification: 1995
Year of becoming a specialist: 2008

Professional profile:
Dr Dinev studied at the Higher Medical Institute in Stara Zagora, Bulgaria and became a Master of Medicine in 1995. He worked at the Dr Ivan Seliminski Community Hospital in Sliven, Bulgaria for thirteen years where he supervised trainee anaesthetists and took responsibility for their work in the operating theatre and in the ICU.

He became a Consultant Anaesthetist in 2008 after training at the Thracian University of Stara Zagora and has performed over 4,770 general and 1,840 regional anaesthesias to date.

He has been working in the UK for three years, most recently as a Locum Staff Grade Anaesthetist at West Cumberland Hospital in Whitehaven, Cumbria.

Name: Katerina Tsokova

Job title: Consultant Radiologist

GMC number: 7006394

Specialty: Radiology

Special interests: Musculoskeletal imaging, urgent medicine, gynaecology

Year of first medical qualifications: 1995

Year of becoming a specialist: 2002

Year of joining Practice Plus Group: 2009

Languages spoken: English, Bulgarian

Personal interests: Mrs Tsokova enjoys spending time with her family, keeps active by going swimming and also plays piano.

Professional profile:

Mrs Katerina Tsokova trained as a general Radiologist in Bulgaria, completing her training at Velingrad Rehabilitation Hospital. She has 22 years clinical experience including 15 years as a consultant and is trained in all aspects of General Radiology. During her career she has developed a special interest in emergency radiology, gynaecology and the MSK pathology and ultrasound intervention.

Mrs Tsokova began working at Care UK in 2009 where she provides X-rays, US and MRI services for general surgery, gynaecology, urology, ENT and orthopaedic patients along with reviewing CT images. She is committed to teaching and is actively involved in running training sessions for physiotherapists in interpretation of joint replacement and also trains sonographers on site. She has contributed to the development of the service by working alongside local GP practices to ensure the streamlining of patient pathways.

Working at Practice Plus Group, Mrs Tsokova puts a strong emphasis on patient comfort and takes a reassuring stance when undertaking procedures to ensure the best possible patient experience.

Membership of professional, national or regional bodies:

European Association of Radiology

Bulgarian Association of Radiology