Hand Unit
The Hand Unit at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital is a tertiary referral unit that cares for patients from London and further afield in all aspects of hand and wrist trauma and elective conditions.
The Hand Unit is led by an equal balance of Orthopaedic and Plastic Surgery trained Consultant Surgeons who bring complimentary areas of expertise to the management of patients with hand and wrist conditions. The junior medical staff are from both disciplines and there is a strong emphasis on training and research within the department. We also offer 2 Fellowships within the department (a Hand and Wrist Trauma Fellowship and an Orthopaedic Hand Surgery Fellowship) which are both coordinated and supervised by Miss Kate Owers and Miss Alice Brmener-Smith.
We are proud of our multidisciplinary team with a committed Hand Therapy Department, Hand Practioner Clinics, nursing-led Plastic Dressings Clinics and Clinical Nurse Specialists in Plastic Surgery. The unit works closely with several other departments—in particular, Radiology, A&E, Rheumatology and Neurophysiology. We have a patient-centred approach to care and hold regular multidisciplinary educational meetings.
The majority of our hand and wrist trauma patients are managed as day case surgery in our dedicated Hand Management Unit located in the Treatment Centre on the Ground Floor. We also run Consultant-led trauma clinics on Monday afternoons and Tuesday and Friday mornings in Outpatients 4 on the 1st Floor, with Hand Therapy support.
Elective Surgery takes place in both the Treatment Centre and Main Theatres, with inpatients being allocated a ward bed by the Admissions Team. Elective clinics also take place in Outpatients 4 on the days shown below:
| Consultant | Clinic |
|---|---|
| Mr G Bantick | Tuesday am (trauma) |
| Miss A Bremner-Smith | Monday am (elective) Monday pm (trauma) |
| Mr Chakrabarty (locum) | Monday pm once a month (paediatric hands) Wednesday am and pm (elective) |
| Mr R Eckersley | Tuesday pm (elective—wrist) Friday am (trauma) |
| Miss E Katsarma | Alternate Monday am (carpal tunnel clinic) Tuesday pm (trauma and elective) |
| Mr D Martin | Monday pm once a month (children’s hands) |
| Miss K Owers | Monday am (elective hand and wrist) Tuesday am (trauma) |
| Mr Lorenzo Garagnani (locum) | Monday am (elective hand and wrist) Monday pm (trauma) |
For further information about Hand Surgery we recommend the Patient Information leaflets on common hand conditions that can be found on the British Society for Surgery of the Hand website.
Patient leaflets
- Hand Management—Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
- Hand Management—De Quervains Tenosynovitis
- Hand Management—Dupuytrens Disease
- Hand Management—Trapeziectomy
- Hand Management—Triggerfinger
Useful contacts
Appointments
New Hand Clinic Appointments
T: 020 3315 6666
Follow-up Hand Clinic and Plastic Dressings Clinic Appointments
T: 020 3315 2770/2772/2773
All extensions have answer-phones and messages left will be responded to within 48hrs (Mon–Fri)
Surgical Admissions
Mr R Eckersley, Miss A Bremner-Smith & Miss K Owers
T: 020 3315 2769 (Treatment Centre and Inpatients)
Mr G Bantick, Miss E Katsarma, Mr D Martin, Miss B Jemec and Mr K Chakrabaty
T: 020 3315 2793 (Treatment Centre)
T: 020 3315 8164 (Inpatients)
Secretaries
Mr R Eckersley, Miss A Bremner-Smith and Miss K Owers
T: 020 3315 5376
Mr G Bantick, Miss E Katsarma
T: 020 3315 2780
Mr D Martin, Miss B Jemec and Mr K Chakrabaty
T: 020 3315 2777
Hand Therapy
T: 020 3315 5434
Plastic Dressings Clinic Advice for Patients
T: 020 3315 2788
Treatment Centre/HMU
T: 020 3315 8195
