Fellowship Training
As one of four specialist paediatric trauma centres and having the largest group of children’s orthopaedic surgeons in the UK, Alder Hey is in the perfect position to offer training in paediatric orthopaedic and spinal surgery to surgeons from around the world.
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We pride ourselves on delivering world-class care and an unrivalled training experience to the future leaders of children’s orthopaedic surgery. Applicants must be senior trainees with previous experience of paediatric orthopaedic surgery.
We think our fellowship is the best around, but don't just take our word for it... Read the testimonials from our previous fellows below to see why Alder Hey might be the right place for your fellowship training...
Contact us at alderheyorthopaedics@gmail.com for more information
Ana Jeelani
​In 2018, I attended the Alder Hey FRCS Instructional Course as a trainee keen to pursue a
career in Paediatric Orthopaedics (and not fail the exam!) and left feeling so impressed by
how engaged, enthusiastic, and committed the consultant body were to teaching that it
cemented by decision to apply for their fellowship. I spent 12 months at Alder Hey between
February 2021 – February 2022 dividing my time mainly within the neuromuscular team,
and then short stints with the limb reconstruction and hip/ clubfoot teams.
The first thing to know about this fellowship, is the more you put in, the more you get out of
it. My logbook recorded 325 cases throughout the 12 months, the majority as first surgeon
with good exposure to complex elective and trauma cases. There is an expectation for the
fellow to lead on most operative cases, providing they are well prepared and with operative
plans for the case. Clinics are largely supernumerary allowing for great teaching
opportunities and lots of discussion, which the team encourage. As the senior fellow, you
undertake a natural leadership role for the junior rota management and within that role,
you obtain an invaluable insight into management of a department, which helps when
starting as a new consultant. I imagine that is the same for many fellowships up and down
the country. What makes Alder Hey so special, in my opinion, is the people – and that’s not
just the consultant body, but from the PCOs, to the fracture clinic staff, to the plaster techs,
to the theatre teams and even the cleaners! Alder Hey is truly a family, where everyone
knows each other on first person terms, and no one is too busy to go out of their way to
help you. The level of surgical training is second to none, with all the consultants keen to
impart their wisdom and ready to help you develop into a better surgeon and person! The
PCOs keep the department ticking over like a well-oiled machine, the theatre teams are well
versed in even the most complex cases and the clinic staff adopt you as one of their own if
you bring them cake. I cannot speak more highly of my time spent in Liverpool and would
encourage anyone interested in pursuing a career in Paediatric Orthopaedics to apply. And
finally, as a city mad on its football, and being a diehard LFC supporter myself, I really did
leave Alder Hey feeling I would never walk alone.
I completed my orthopaedic training in the East of Scotland and wanted to undertake a fellowship that would prepare me for practice as a paediatric orthopaedic consultant. I had heard great things about both Alder Hey and specifically the orthopaedic department. Following a three day visit, I was sure that a year spent in Liverpool would be time well spent. I applied and after being successfully appointed started in August 2018 for 12 months. The team was immediately welcoming and although I was new to the region I was made to feel part of the team straight away. The unit is busy with a mix of all paediatric orthopaedic subspecialities. Normally unusual presentations are commonly encountered and it is both busy and constantly educational. There is constant discussion of cases that occurs not only at the morning meeting but through the day in the office and after work over a cup of tea which is priceless. As a fellow and no day goes but without being part of those consultant level discussions. The post is a true fellowship experience with graduated responsibility guided by the fellow as the year progresses. Outpatient sessions, theatre and teaching make for a busy year and I accrued over 420 cases in 12 months.
I would and have recommended a fellowship at Alder Hey to anyone looking for either a well-rounded or more tailored post CCT fellowship. I am now in post at the Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital as a consultant and the links I made with my mentors and friends at Alder Hey continue. I am proud to be an Alder Hey Alumnus.
Mike Reidy
David Bryson
It is an honour to be part of the Alder Hey alumni. The word was out there and the amazing work done by this team is what made me chose Alder Hey. It was all I expected and more!
Since I have a keen interest in Limb reconstruction, I spent the majority of my time with that team. Mr Durai Nayagam is a living legend and his mentoring has honed my skills and practice in many more ways than I can put in words. ‘Chance favours the prepared mind’ is personified by his exemplary planning. A lesson from the master is that a delicate dissection and soft tissue handling is the key to good orthopaedic surgery. Mr James is loved by all his patients and is very skilled and I hope to emulate him so. (P.S. there will always be a box of chocolates in his theatre). Alison, Rose and Dave form the heart of the limb recon team and dedication to patient care is something I learnt from them. Thursday evening tea and biscuits were a ritual with the team, much missed…
Precision is Mr Bass’s forte, from decision making to surgical technique, his approach was precise and inspiring. He has his own fan club of both patients and trainees. It is a treat to watch him operate; the tissue planes just make way for him. Do expect a punchline with a straight face when with him and your skin closure better be the best! Mr Garg or Super G was always approachable and would have his pearls of wisdom for trauma management. Mr George was the friendly neighbourhood guy with a solution to every infection. Mr Perry’s research skills are world renowned (proven by a randomised multicenter double blind trial) and I hope to have gained a tiny bit of it! Mr Walton and Mr Wright are amazing teachers. Friday big breakfasts…I mean the multilevel CP all day surgery... was something to look forward to with them. The CP legacy is in safe hands. Last but not least, Mr Bruce is a genie. He has a solution to everything. His wisdom and years of experience were the icing on the cake. His encouragement and confidence in me helped me cross the bridge from being a fellow to a Consultant.
The whole team from admin to all staff is very welcoming and leaves you with fond memories. You would be spoilt for choice in your time at Alder Hey. The innovation hub and the gait lab are well known secrets if they fascinate you.
Fellowships are the time in your career where you want to hone your skills and decision making, learn ‘what not to do’ and how to bail out of difficult situations. It’s the time you start making your decisions yet have someone watching over your shoulder! Alder Hey was a perfect blend of all this and spending a year living in Liverpool was even better. Learn I did, but more so made a lot of friends.
This fellowship has helped me grow from a trainee to a Consultant. I am now a Consultant in Paediatric Orthopaedics at the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital pursuing my special interest in Paediatric Limb Reconstruction and hope to carry the legacy forward.
Timi Ayodele
What follows may sound like something from a paid advertisement for the orthopaedic department at Alder Hey… but in fact it is not. Rather, Alder Hey and the orthopaedic department is simply as close to a utopia as you can get. This fellowship is a hidden gem. I spent 12 months at Alder Hey and would have gladly spent the rest of my career there. As is the case with the city in general, it is the people that make the place. Nowhere will you find a collection of kinder, wiser, gentler or more gifted orthopaedic surgeons than you will at Alder Hey.Aside from the weekly fracture clinic or two, the fellows are largely supernumerary for clinical duties thus affording unrivalled opportunity to maximise clinical and operative learning. Everybody is welcoming and for the fellow who is organised and prepared to plan cases in advance, opportunities abound and it is more or less expected that the fellow will operate and the consultant assist. I have engaged in lengthy conversations with individuals who have undertaken fellowships elsewhere, and it would seem that Alder Hey is wholly unique in this regard. I left Alder Hey with a logbook full of exactly the sort of cases I wanted to get exposure to. In 12 months there I was fellowship trained to the highest standard and upon taking up a Consultant post in the midlands, I haven’t looked back. I am where I am because of the training I received at Alder Hey.The truth is, I really can’t fault the place. I don’t think you will get a better paediatric orthopaedic experience anywhere. The building is fantastic, the people are wonderful and surgical opportunities exist in abundance. To my mind, it is a utopia.
Ishani Shah
I was appointed as the Senior Clinical Fellow in Paediatric Orthopaedics at Alder Hey Hospital from 2015-2016. Whilst I worked with the majority of the Consultants my clinical firms were with Mr Colin Bruce & Mr Dan Perry (hips), Mr Alfie Bass (Cerebral Palsy) and Mr Selvadurai Nayagam (Paediatric Limb Reconstruction). I chose to go to Alder Hey because I was looking for a renowned Fellowship in Paediatric Orthopaedics at an international centre that included research that covered the majority of facets of the specialty. I also was looking for a UK based Fellowship.
I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Alder Hey. I had good operative experience across both trauma and elective. I developed excellent management protocols and understanding from a Consultant body that was always encouraging and readily available. I had the opportunity to develop managerial and research skills that have been invaluable in my current role as an NHS consultant. I was supported in my finalising my CCT and applications for Consultant roles. I was welcomed and grown as a future Consultant colleague. I now work at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust as a Paediatric Orthopaedic Consultant.
I thoroughly recommend the Fellowship not just for how I was taught but for how I was supported as a person and as a colleague.
