Surgeons can choose to specialise in one of the following surgical disciplines:

Surgical Service Delivery

Surgical consultants across the subspecialties work as part of a multidisciplinary team in order to achieve optimum results for their patients both adult, maternity and paediatric. Many surgical patients will require a collaborative surgical approach across more than one surgical speciality; with Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Plastic Reconstructive Surgery and Paediatric Surgery teams being jointly involved in the different stages of Cleft Lip and Palate correction, for example.

In addition to consultant surgeons working with other surgical colleagues across other specialties, they will also work as part of a wider multidisciplinary team with a diverse range of specialist health professionals.

A consultant surgeon usually works in/between several public hospitals on the hospital network system, comprised of ‘hub and spoke’ sites, across several of the National Hospital Groups, and they may also offer a private surgery practice. Most surgical procedures are carried out in an acute hospital setting, but pre and post operative services can be provided in both acute hospital and community settings, including inpatient units, day hospitals and outpatient clinics, and best practise guidelines encourage full utilisation of community resources, where appropriate.