Mr Michael Saunders

I am a consultant ear nose and throat surgeon who treats both children and adults. In the clinic at Spire Bristol Hospital, I treat a wide range of children's ENT conditions and the audiologists I work alongside also have great experience of children's ear and hearing problems.

I was appointed as a consultant in 2000. Since then I have developed my interest in children's ENT problems and now deal with a range of complex problems, taking tertiary referrals from the whole of the South West region and beyond.

I am very fortunate to be able to spend a large part of my working life with children in such an enormously rewarding field. I trained at Bristol University medical school, graduating first in my year in child health. After starting specialist training in ENT surgery I developed an interest in children's ENT problems while working as a Senior Registrar at Bristol Children's Hospital. I subsequently spent six months of my higher specialist training at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London, followed by a year's fellowship in paediatric ENT at the New Children's Hospital in Sydney.

I have a very broad training in general and adult ENT, training in the South West region and for a period in Toronto. This has allowed me to deal with the majority of adult ENT problems. The great advantage of working in a team of three consultants in the Bristol ENT Partnership is that we are able to pursue our specialist interests and take advantage of each others differing expertise by cross referring patients where necessary.

As well as private work at Spire Bristol Hospital, I work at the Bristol Royal Hospital for Children and at St Michael's Hospital, Bristol. I am the lead clinician for ENT surgery at the Children's Hospital where I spend around two thirds of my NHS time.

In addition to this I am a council member of the British Association of Paediatric Otolaryngology and I am a member of the teaching faculty of the British paediatric ENT course for registrars. I also convene the Paediatric section of the Bristol / Birmingham FRCS course for trainees. I regularly lecture on the subject to trainees and consultants in other specialties both at home and abroad.