Meet our team
Dr Gareth Walters
NHS Consultant in Occupational Respiratory Medicine
Gareth has been the clinical lead for the regional occupational lung disease service at Birmingham Chest Clinic and a NHS consultant in respiratory medicine at Heartlands Hospital since 2016. He started out a Brummie, gained a BSc(Hons) in Physiology and qualified as a doctor from University of Bristol in 2001, and also has a Masters degree in Medical Education from University of Warwick. He wrote a MD thesis on "Barriers to the diagnosis of occupational asthma" with Professor Jon Ayres at University of Birmingham, trying to identify strategies to make spotting work-related asthma easier for workers and healthcare professionals. He enjoys researching, writing, and teaching doctors in training and other colleagues about aspects of occupational respiratory medicine when able. Gareth is also a member of the specialist advisory group on occupational and environmental lung diseases for the British Thoracic Society.
Dr Alastair Robertson
NHS Consultant in Occupational Respiratory Medicine, and Occupational Physician
Alastair graduated from the University of Aberdeen and came to Birmingham in 1983 after working in general and respiratory medicine in Scotland. Initially he carried out a period of research into a number of aspects of Occupational Lung Disease before also training in Occupational Medicine. He took up his current post of Consultant in Occupational Health and Head of the Occupational Health Department at University Hospitals Birmingham in 1993. He continues to work at the Occupational Lung Disease Service at the Birmingham Chest Clinic. He is also an Honorary Senior Clinical Lecturer at the University of Birmingham.
Professor Sherwood Burge OBE
Professor and NHS Consultant in Occupational Respiratory Medicine
Sherwood spent his formative years learning allergy and immunology from Professor Jack Pepys, and occupational health and epidemiology from Professor Corbett McDonald, at the Royal Brompton Hospital, London. He started analysis of serial peak flow records there, after the introduction of the Wright peak flow meter, the first portable device, and continued developing this with the help of many others over the last 40 years. He became a consultant physician at the then East Birmingham Hospital (now Heartlands Hosptial) and Birmingham Chest Clinic in 1979, where he set up services in occupational lung disease, difficult asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and Interstitial lung diseases, as well as establishing the intertsitial lung disease MDT. Sherwood's major interest has always been in occupational lung diseases, and main source of learning has been from the patients, whose exposures constantly change as new technologies develop.
Dr Vicky Moore
Clinical Scientist in Occupational Lung DIseases
Vicky is the Clinical Scientist for the occupational lung disease service and performs diagnostic tests for occupational asthma such as specific inhalation challenge (SIC) and analysis of serial peak expiratory flow (PEF) measurements, as well as workplace visits and challenges. She has three degrees including a BSc(Hons) in Physiology from University of Sheffield, a MSc in Occupational Health from University of Birmingham and lastly a PhD in the 'Development and validation of diagnotsic tools for occupational asthma based on serial lung function measurements' from University of Birmingham in 2010. Part of this included a European Respiratory Society fellowship spent through the winter in Finland with co-supervisor Dr Maritta Jaakkola. The dark and freezing winter months proved to be fantastic for getting work done but also a great way to see a completely different style of living. Vicky conitinues to undertake research into the diagnostics of occupational asthma.
Catherine Ball
Occupational lung disease service clinic supervisor
Catherine is reposnisble for the clerical aspects of the ocucpational lung disease service and the frst point of contact for those patients or healthcare professoinals with queries about appointments or referrals. She receives and processes referrals, and faciliates the patient pathway from assessment, diganosis through to follow-up. This ensures that patients are getting the most effective possible care.
Sr Geraldine Burge
Senior clinical nurse specialist in interstitial lung diseases and respiratory medicine
Geraldine trained as a nurse at Westminster Hospital, London, and has worked at Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust (HEFT) since 1983, initially as a respiratory ward sister and later as a respiratory research nurse in COPD and Interstitial Lung Diseases (ILD). She subsequently became the second ILD clinical specialist nurse in the UK. Geraldine's main role is to lead ILD nursing across all four hospital sites at HEFT, and manage the provision of high quality nursing care to patients with ILD (including patients with asbestosis and pneumoconioses), as well as their families and carers. She runs the local ILD patient support group, is the current chair and founder of the Intersitial Lung Disease Interdisciplinary Network (a network seeking to provide support for allied healthcare professionals working in ILD) and has been the Chair of the European Respiratory Society Nursing Group Assembly (1997-9), and a board member of the European School of Respiratory Medicine (2009-13).
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