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A very special Specialist!
Written by Communications Lead   

A new consultant, who is a rare specialist in her field of expertise, has been appointed at the Ashford and St. Peter’s Hospitals NHS Trust. Miss Tanaya Sarkhel FRCS (Trauma & Orthopaedic) has taken up the role of Consultant Upper Limb Surgeon. She is one of only 73 female orthopaedic consultants in the NHS – there are more than 2,000 male orthopaedic consultants.
 
Originally from Canterbury, Kent, her BSc and medical degrees are from the former Charing Cross and Westminster Medical School, now part of Imperial College, University of London. Her junior surgical posts were at St Richard’s Hospital, Chichester and the Royal Sussex Hospital at Brighton. Miss Sarkhel also worked as a Trauma Registrar in Australia for 18 months. On returning to the UK she began her orthopaedic specialist training on the South West Thames, St George’s Hospital Medical School rotation, which brought her to St. Peter’s Hospital for a time.
 
At medical school she had already studied anatomy under Ashford and St. Peter’s hospitals Consultant Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgeon Mr Kevin Newman. His colleague, Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon Mr Robert Simonis was her Programme Director for her entire transition from Registrar to Consultant and she also spent her fourth year as a trainee working at St Peter’s for Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon Mr David Elliot.
 
Said Miss Sarkhel: “I got into Orthopaedics in my fourth year at medical school when a Registrar let me fix my first scaphoid bone: there is something very pleasing about being able to straighten a bone and improve function, it’s quite addictive.”
 
Fractures of the scaphoid bone are common and usually caused by falls onto the hand.
                                                                               
 
Added Miss Sarkhel: “My subspeciality interests lie in Hand and Shoulder Surgery. I offer the complete orthopaedic treatment of hand conditions and have a special interest in wrist fracture management and carpal instability. I also hope to complement the existing skills of the Upper Limb Service in shoulder arthroscopy and joint replacement.
 
“The Rowley Bristow Orthopaedic Unit at Ashford and St. Peter’s Hospitals is very well respected in the orthopaedic world and I am very pleased to be able to join the team and hopefully contribute to the high standards of patient care for which they are well known.”
 
Miss Sarkhel’s career has included two Fellowships in Hands and Shoulders: firstly the Pulvertaft Hand Fellowship at Derby Royal Infirmary and then as the Biomet Shoulder Fellow at Epsom General Hospital. She presented her research work at the British Elbow and Shoulder Society, gaining a national award.
 
Prior to joining the Rowley Bristow Orthopaedic Unit at Ashford and St. Peter’s Hospitals NHS Trust Miss Sarkhel worked as a locum consultant at Frimley Park Hospital NHS Foundation Trust for almost two years.
 
She supports the group “Women in Surgery” in order to demonstrate what is possible with the speciality. She has attended the 2nd Annual Conference in December and forms part of the consultant mentoring scheme for female trainees hoping to pursue a surgical career.
 
Her out-of-work activities are child centred, and she is kept busy by her three-year-old. She currently lives in West London.  
 
Last Updated ( Wednesday, 31 December 2008 12:56 )