The Aword

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2011 Updated CV

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CURRICULUM VITAE


Dr. Sarah Alexandra FOX (nee Andreae-Jones)


AGE: 48 (DOB 13/10/1962)


STATUS: Married


QUALIFICATIONS: MB BS (1986) London Hospital medical College 
Post graduate Diploma in Pain Management, Cardiff University 2007.


WORK HISTORY: GMC Registration number 3165869

1981    voluntary nursing assistant in a registered nursing home

1981-1986    training at the London Hospital Medical College (now known as the Royal London)

1983-84    as a medical student, I participated in gastrointestinal research.(with the Wellcome Foundation). My electives were in Obstetrics, Radiology and Accident and Emergency (1985/6)

1986 onwards    qualified MB BS;

Pre-registration houseman posts: first in general surgery: 6 months at Chelmsford Hospital (Essex)then 6 months in

Ipswich (Suffolk) : 3 months general medicine, followed by 3 months endocrinology and haematology.

Locum SHO post in Neurology at Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge August 1987

SHO Accident and Emergency, Chelmsford (5 months)

SHO Psychogeriatrics Goodmayes Hospital, London 4 months

SHO Acute Psychiatry 9 months St. Lawrence's Hospital, Bodmin



RECENT POSTS:

DECEMBER 2003: Clinical Assistant at Eric Angel Pain Management Unit, Derriford Hospital, Plymouth.

DECEMBER 2004: Trust doctor at same unit;

Clinical work involved outpatient clinics, 3 a week (one new patient, 2 follow-up), assessing inpatient referrals.

Teaching: sessions on the Outpatient Pain Management Programme. SHO teaching for MRCP course (assessing and managing chronic pain), medical students at Peninsula Medical School (acute pain, chronic pain, cancer pain), NURB nursing course (assessing pain), GPs (neuropathic pain).

Examiner for BASMU: anaesthetists spending 6 months in Antarctica.

Associate Specialist in Pain Management, Bath Centre for Pain Services September 2006 – May 2009 NHS and private patients.

Work involved medical assessment of complex chronic pain patients for the programme (including medicolegal cases; Outreach clinics in Scotland in Pain Clinics in Dundee, Perth and Aberdeen). Involvement with the interdisciplinary team running adult and adolescent programmes (group and individual sessions). Teaching SHOs on pain management. 


CURRENT POSTS:

Specialty Doctor in Psychiatry: Older Adults. Callington Road Hospital, Brislington, Bristol. December 2007- present

Work with both functional and organic cases, including ward work, domiciliary visits, liaison Psychiatry assessments at local general hospitals. Also teaching junior staff and medical students.

I have recently given a number of talks to colleagues, GPs and District Nurses on chronic pain in general, pain in the elderly and pain in dementia.

Pain and dementia I am currently involved with a multi-agency project (with Napp and colleagues from Bristol Royal Infirmary, Frenchay Hospital and Bristol PCT) improving pain assessment and management in residential care settings for patients with dementia, and have designed a pain tool for this purpose which is being piloted locally. We have run a number of study days for residential home staff and are going to audit any change in practice. The project has sparked interest from colleagues in Swindon.

Declaration of interest: Napp Pharmaceuticals provided an educational grant for the project; I receive honoraria for talks, meetings etc. Neither I nor any member of my family have shares in any Pharmaceutical companies.

Visiting lecturer Cardiff University:  teaching on MSc courses, principally in Pain Management; contributing educational material to the affiliated website on subjects such as Substance Misuse, Suicidal Ideation and Depression.

Recent CME: British Pain Society Annual Meeting 2005, 2006, 2009; Masterclass in Neuropathic Pain 2005 and 2006, Wessex Pain Society Meeting 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007. Pain Management Programme Conference 2007, Royal College of Psychiatrists South West meeting 2007, 2008. British Society of Rheumatology Annual Meeting 2007. Leicester University Geriatric Medicine 2008, various study days on Dementia, Mental Capacity Act, Mental Health Act 2008/09. Dementia study day June 2010, Leicester University Geriatric Medicine 2010, Domestic Violence course June 2010. SAS group meetings 2008, 2010. Study days in May 2010 and February 2011 on Depression.


RESEARCH:


2004-2007 with Arthritis Care on the effectiveness of a brief lay-led education programme. Poster presentation at British Society of Rheumatologists meeting 24th April 2008.

2008/09 Clinical Trials Unit at Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases (Bath): involved in trials for treatment of Psoriatic nail conditions and Fibromyalgia.

I am a member of the Steering Committee of the Pain in Older Adults Special Interest Group (SIG) of the British Pain Society. We are aiming to improve awareness, assessment and management of pain in dementia, particularly for patients in residential care.

I have set up an international database on Adhesive Arachnoiditis and have launched a web-based survey. I have previously run 3 surveys on arachnoiditis, in 1999, 2000 and 2001.

I am liaising with Prof. Jan Warnke, a neurosurgeon in Germany, to try to set up research into Arachnoiditis.


PUBLICATIONS

Introductory chapter in “Is anybody listening?” Dr Wendy Anderson, 2005, ASAMS, New Zealand.

Chapter on prognosis of Adhesive Arachnoiditis in “Arachnoiditis: The Evidence Revealed”   J Antonio Aldrete, 2010 Editorial Alfil , Mexico

Numerous internet articles, originally written for a number of different support groups. Most continue to be available at www.theaword.org a support group website for patients with Arachnoiditis, including a 300+ page article on The Adhesive Arachnoditis Syndrome written in 2003. Some of my articles have been translated into French and Romanian and some are currently being translated into Norwegian.

Other websites using my articles include ASAMS http://www.arachnoiditis.info/
CESSG (Cauda Equina Syndrome Support Group)   http://www.caudaequina.org/

I have also made contributions in the past to websites such as The Burton Report (www.theburtonreport.com ) run by Dr Charles Burton, director of the Institute of Low Back and Neck Care, Minneapolis and Rotorua Pain Specialists (http://www.painspecialists.co.nz/) run by Dr Stefan Neff, Consultant Anaesthetist (who worked with me in Plymouth in 2006). 

PRESENTATIONS

‘Toxic Aspects of Arachnoiditis’: Environmental Assistance conference, London 1999
‘The Role of the Chiropractor in Diagnosing Arachnoiditis’: British Chiropractic Association, 1999
Talks on Arachnoiditis to support groups (1998-2003) and also at Derriford Hospital (2003) and the Peninsula Pain Group (2006).
2003-2006 ‘Neuropathic pain’ (to GPs)
‘Chronic Pain Self-management’ to Peninsula Pain Group 2007

As above, a number of different talks on various pain topics during the course of teaching 2003-present: ‘Pain assessment’, ‘Managing pain’, ‘Pain and Depression’, ‘Pain and anxiety’, ‘Pregabalin’; ‘Neuropathic pain’, ‘Sleep’ etc.
‘What is Pain?’ ‘Investigating Pain’; ‘Pain Medication’; ‘Living a Healthy Life with Chronic Pain’:  Bath Centre for Pain Services: to group sessions  2007-2009 
‘Challenging Pain Study’: Arthritis Care Head Office 2008 (presenting preliminary study results), Arthritis Care Northern Ireland, 2009
‘Chronic Pain’: to Arthritis Care branches 2009, 2010
‘Pain in Older Adults’, 2009 (Callington Road Hospital Older Adult SBU, GPs at different surgeries, District Nurses)
‘The Mystery of Pain’, and ‘Prognosis of Arachnoiditis’, both at 1st International Congress on Arachnoiditis and Related Pathologies, AARMOR, Chambery, July 2010
Medically Unexplained Symptoms for F2 doctors at Post-graduate centre in Royal United Hospital, Bath, October 2010.
Pain Assessment and Management in patients with Dementia, October-December 2010
Substance Misuse for Cardiff University website www.paincommunity.org October 2010
Suicidal Ideation and Depression Cardiff University January 2011
Medically Unexplained Symptoms: for SAS Doctors meeting, March 2011

MEDICOLEGAL WORK:

I have been involved with a number of cases both in the UK and abroad including cases involving arachnoiditis for which I have acted as an expert witness. I have prepared medicolegal reports for patients with chronic pain litigation or insurance issues.

VOLUNTARY SECTOR WORK:

Patron of various support groups (UK, USA, New Zealand, France) for patients with adhesive arachnoiditis since 1998. I have written numerous articles for these groups on aspects of chronic pain in general, neuropathic pain and arachnoiditis in particular and given talks to the group in the UK. I have taken part in radio and TV discussions and corresponded with politicians (including a meeting at Department of Health).

I am a committee member of the South-West Regional Arthritis Care Committee. I give talks to local branches of Arthritis Care. I also gave a talk to GPs at a practice near Belfast on behalf of Arthritis Care Northern Ireland in February 2009.

I recently gave 2 talks at the first International Congress on Tarlov Cysts and Arachnoiditis (run by the support group AARMOR) in France in July 2010: one on chronic pain, one on Prognosis in Arachnoiditis.

AWARD

Arthritis Care Health Professional of the Year, 60th Anniversary Year 2007.


PERSONAL INTERESTS:

CAM (Complementary and Alternative Medicine). For many years, I have been interested in an Integrative Medicine approach to chronic pain and correspond with colleagues in USA discussing this.

Hobbies: Swimming, gardening, photography, Goodwood Revival and Speed Festivals, films, music, especially soundtracks.