Hepatology is part of the gastroenterology department at the East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust. The specialist team assesses patients with abnormal liver function tests and cares for patients with acute and chronic liver disorders.
We provide inpatient care on our specialist Gastroenterology and Hepatology ward at Lister hospital and offer outpatient services across all three of the Trust sites.
We work closely with the drug and alcohol services to help patients withdraw from alcohol safely and efficiently.
We are dedicated to providing first-class hepatology care and continually improving the service we provide our patients. As part of this we have committed to an ongoing programme of service and quality improvement for accreditation with the national Improving Quality in Liver Services (IQILS) programme.
The IQILS accreditation programme works with liver services across the UK to improve the quality of care.
Specialist investigative services
We provide patients with the following investigative services:
- endoscopic diagnosis and treatment of oesophageal and gastric varices
- endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) – gallstone removal from the bile duct
- percutaneous biliary drainage (PTC) – for blocked bile ducts
- laparoscopic cholecystectomy/open cholecystectomy – gallbladder removal
- FibroScan – a non-invasive method of assessing liver fibrosis
We have close links with other specialist centres and we refer to them for:
- biliary and pancreatic endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)
- transcatheter arterial chemoembolisation (TACE) for liver tumours
- trans-arterial embolisation (TAE) for liver tumours
- stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) for liver tumours
We have a dedicated 29 bed gastroenterology and hepatology ward where we look after patients with liver, bile duct and pancreatic diseases.
We offer a day case paracentesis service and patients will either be admitted to the gastroenterology ward or the same day emergency care (SDEC) unit.
We offer treatment to patients with hepatitis C through outpatient clinics or we can refer them to the community team who will treat them in the local community.
We see a range of patients at our general clinics, including those with:
- alcohol- and non-alcohol-related liver disease
- liver cirrhosis and its complications
- inherited and metabolic liver disease including Wilson’s disease, alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency (AATD), haemochromatosis and glycogen storage diseases.)
- autoimmune-related liver disease including primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC), primary biliary cholangitis (PBC), autoimmune hepatitis and immunoglobulin G4 related disease (IgG4)
- gallbladder disease
Clinic times and locations
Hertford Hospital (face-to-face, telephone)
Tuesday 2pm
Lister Hospital (face-to-face, telephone)
Tuesday 2pm
Thursday 9am
New QEII Hospital (face-to-face, telephone)
Monday 2pm
At our viral hepatology clinics, we see patients with hepatitis B and C. The clinics are nurse-led and coordinate with the weekly viral hepatology multidisciplinary team meetings each week.
Clinic times and locations
Lister Hospital (face-to-face, telephone)
Tuesday alternate weeks 2pm
New QEII Hospital (face-to-face, telephone)
Monday 2pm
A FibroScan is a type of ultrasound that can measure the degree of inflammation and scarring in your liver, which allows us to plan your treatment. It is a simple, painless test that uses high frequency sound waves. A FibroScan gives immediate results. It does not have any potential complications or risks and is non-invasive, which means that it does not break the skin or enter your body.
Clinic times and locations
Hertford Hospital (face-to-face)
Tuesday 9am-1pm and 2pm-4pm
Lister Hospital (face-to-face)
Friday 9am-1pm and 2pm-4pm
New QEII Hospital (face-to-face)
Monday 9am-1pm and 2pm-4pm
If you have an accumulation of fluid in your abdomen, it may need to be drained using a procedure called paracentesis (or abdominal tap).
We do paracentesis as a day case procedure, so unless you’re already staying in hospital, you won’t need to stay overnight.
During paracentesis a small drainage tube is placed through the skin into the fluid. You’ll be given a local anaesthetic before the drain is put in. The nurse will use ultrasound to confirm that it is safe to insert the drain. The drain stays in place for around six hours.
Clinic times and locations
Lister Hospital (face-to-face)
Monday 9am
Hepatology team and contacts
- Dr Paul Trembling
- Dr Richard Warburton
- Dr Emily Kooner
- Dr Paul Kooner
Secretary to consultants: Samantha Bonds, 01438 288885
Email address: [email protected]
Hepatology Clinical Nurse Specialists
Courtney Davies
Kate Fryer
01438 288950
Email address: [email protected]
