Mr Richard Laing

  Richard was appointed as a Consultant HPB Surgeon at Royal Stoke University Hospital in July 2022. He is an experienced laparoscopic and robotic surgeon and advocates for the use of a key-hole approach where possible and appropriate.   Richard studied Medical Science at the University of St Andrews and Medicine at The University of Manchester and began his clinical training in the West Midlands in 2008. After securing a specialist training number in General Surgery in 2012, Richard took time out of his clinical training to complete a PhD at University Hospital Birmingham and The University of Birmingham. He took up a Wellcome Trust Research position in 2016, setting up and delivering VITTAL, a Wellcome Trust Funded Clinical Trial which has helped change practice in Liver Transplantation worldwide. Richard has won several awards for his research into machine perfusion of the liver including the Andy Burroughs Award from the British Liver Transplant Group, The Medawar Medal for Clinical Research from the British Transplant Society and the Rising Star Award from the International Liver Transplant Society. He was awarded his PhD from The University of Birmingham in January 2021. In April of 2021 he was elected as The President of The Roux Group (the trainee section of the Association of Upper GI Surgeons [AUGIS]) and was awarded his FRCS from the Royal College of Surgeons of England in July 2021. Richard completed his Specialty Training at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital Liver Unit at University Hospitals Birmingham and was awarded his CCT in July 2022. His decision to specialise in HPB surgery was driven by his passion for laparoscopic and robotic surgery (minimally invasive or "key-hole" surgery) and he has continued to drive this forward in his clinical work.  Richard has a number of other roles alongside his NHS practice and is passionate about improving patient care and experiences within the NHS, as well as training surgeons of the future. In addition to raising awareness of Pancreas Cancer, he is the Audit and Governance Lead for General Surgery at UHNM, he works with Keele University Medical School, West Midlands Cancer Alliance overseeing the 62-day diagnosis and treatment pathway for patients with HPB cancers and has advised on the Upper GI Surgery referral pathway for the Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Integrated Care System. Richard is also the lead for Robotic Upper GI Surgery at Royal Stoke Hospital. He is the Midlands Lead for the Association of Laparoscopic and Robotic Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland and is a member of the Faculty for the Future Leaders Programme run by the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh.

His day to day practice involves managing patients with; · Cancer of the pancreas, gallbladder, bile duct, duodenum and small intestine · Complex benign gallbladder and gallstone-related conditions · Management and repair of bile duct injuries · Acute and chronic pancreatitis · Cystic lesions of the pancreas, liver and spleen · Splenomegaly (enlargement of the spleen) · Elective and emergency general surgical conditions such as hernias, obstruction of the small intestine, appendicitis and bowel ischemia