Meet the team
Our experienced team provide a range of medical and surgical services aimed at weight loss in morbidly obese patients. All new patients are discussed in a weekly multidisciplinary meeting, so that every member of the clinical team has a complete understanding of each individual’s situation before any treatment decisions are made. If bariatric surgery is approved, a patient can be referred to any of our surgeons.
Anaesthetist
Dr Jonathan Cousins
Dr Cousins has trained in weight loss surgery by visiting and attending courses at nine different bariatric centres across Europe and the UK. Combining this training with his broad experience, he has created a tailored anaesthetic procedure to allow patients to return to full mobility as quickly as possible. All patients are monitored during surgery with Entropy, a brain-wave monitor, to ensure the perfect depth of anaesthesia.
Dr Cousins personally runs a dedicated pre-assessment service prior to surgery to ensure safety and minimise the risk of complications and potential cancellation of the surgery.
Bariatric coordinator
Debbie O'Rourke
Debbie O’Rourke is the bariatric coordinator for the Imperial weight centre. She is also a trained phlebotomist. She books all bariatric surgeries, ensures patients have a pre-operative assessment, informs patients of the start date for their diets and coordinates our multidisciplinary meetings. She started her profession in 2003 as a clinic support worker in lower and upper gastrointestinal surgery. She joined the Imperial weight centre in 2009 and has attended several obesity training days and bariatric surgery conferences.
Dietitians
Joanne Boyle
Joanne Boyle is a senior dietitian with special expertise and seven years’ experience in caring for bariatric patients. She runs the service’s lifestyle clinic, which is a six-month-long programme aiming to help obese patients lose 5 percent of their starting weight with changes to their eating, exercise and behavioural habits.
She is particularly interested in the psychology of eating behaviour and recently completed a foundation certificate in psychotherapy and counselling at the Minster Centre in London.
Candace Bovill-Taylor
More information coming soon
Metabolic physician
Dr Carel le Roux
Dr le Roux is the lead physician in our obesity service and a reader in metabolic medicine at Imperial College London. He specialises in managing patients prior to and after bariatric surgery and pharmacotherapy to reduce their complication risks and optimise the health benefits of weight loss. His research interest is in the mechanisms of how bariatric surgery works.
Nurse specialist
Karen O’Donnell
Sister O’Donnell is a clinical nurse specialist with more than 14 years’ experience in the field of gastrointestinal surgery. She has received specialised training in several UK and European bariatric centres and is responsible for the education and training of hospital staff.
Sister O’Donnell performs gastric band adjustments and can act as a patient advocate, offering advice and support to patients, relatives and carers. With her specialist knowledge she can also liaise with GPs and other health professionals on a patient’s behalf.
Psychiatrist
Dr Samantha Scholtz
Dr Samantha Scholtz is a psychiatrist based in the department of bariatric and metabolic surgery at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and the eating disorder unit at South West London and St George's Mental Health Trust. She has been working in the field of eating disorders and obesity for the past three years, within three different national referral centres. She is expert at providing psychiatric assessment and support to patients undergoing bariatric surgery, having assessed and guided over 500 patients through this process.
Dr Scholtz has training in various psychotherapeutic approaches and uses a cognitive behavioural or cognitive analytical approach in preparing patients for surgery if required. She is currently undertaking research into appetite using functional magnetic resonance imaging and has publications in peer-reviewed journals on eating disorders.
Surgeons
Ahmed R Ahmed
Mr Ahmed is a consultant in upper gastrointestinal surgery and lead bariatric surgeon at Imperial weight centre. He has performed over 1,000 laparoscopic bariatric procedures, including over 550 gastric bypasses. He has trained in general and upper GI surgery in the UK and at Stanford University and the University of Rochester in the US.
He trains other surgeons in the field of bariatric surgery and is on the faculty of numerous courses on bariatric surgery as well as being actively involved in bariatric surgery research. He was awarded the 2007 International Federation for Surgery for Obesity Scholarship for most promising new bariatric surgeon of the year.
George Hanna
Mr George Hanna is the lead consultant for upper gastrointestinal surgery and academic lead for bariatric surgery. He is an experienced upper gastrointestinal cancer surgeon and regularly performs advanced and complex keyhole procedures.
Krishna Moorthy
Mr Krishna Moorthy is a consultant in upper gastrointestinal surgery. He has extensive experience in advanced keyhole surgery and specialises in cancer and bariatric surgery. He has a particular interest in sleeve gastrectomies and gastric banding. Mr Moorthy completed a fellowship in one of the most prestigious bariatric surgery units in Europe, at St Pierre University Hospital in Brussels.
Torsten Olbers
Mr Torsten Olbers is a consultant surgeon who specialises in upper gastrointestinal surgery. He has performed over 2,000 bariatric procedures, mainly keyhole gastric bypass, sleeve gastrectomy and duodenal switches. After finishing his PhD at Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Sweden he became the director of the minimal invasive and trauma surgery unit and thereafter director of the surgical obesity centre. He is currently leader of a research group in the field of obesity research at Sahlgrenska University Hospital.
© 2012 Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust