An initial consultation with Professor Alexander Ford is from £240.
Professor Alexander Ford
Professor of gastroenterology and consultant gastroenterologist
MBChB, MD, FRCP
Specialises in
- General gastroenterology
- Reflux problems
- Anaemia
- Change in bowel habit
- Constipation, diarrhoea and irritable bowel syndrome
I am a consultant gastroenterologist at Spire Leeds and have been a consultant gastroenterologist at Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust for thirteen years. I have specialist accreditation in gastroenterology, with extensive experience in the investigation and management of irritable bowel syndrome, dyspepsia, gastro-oesophageal reflux disease, Barrett’s oesophagus, peptic ulcer disease, coeliac disease, chronic constipation, and inflammatory bowel disease.
I perform both diagnostic and therapeutic upper and lower gastrointestinal endoscopy. I have performed more than 6,000 endoscopies and colonoscopies in both my NHS and private practice.
I have a research interest in functional bowel disorders, such as irritable bowel syndrome, and have published more than 450 peer-reviewed articles in scientific journals. This gives me a thorough grounding in how to manage these common disorders using an up-to-date and evidence-based approach.
In addition to my clinical work, I am also a professor of gastroenterology at the University of Leeds. I supervise two PhD and MD fellows in my academic time and conduct clinical trials in Gastroenterology. I am handling editor for Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics, a scientific journal in the field of Gastroenterology. I am also secretary of the neurogastroenterology section of the British Society of Gastroenterology. I have previously been a member of two National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines groups, for the management of Crohn's disease, and dyspepsia and gastro-oesophageal reflux disease.
In 2013 I was elected as a fellow of the Rome Foundation, the organisation dedicated to improving the lives of people with functional gastrointestinal disorders, such as irritable bowel syndrome. This was in recognition of the significant contribution my research has made to the mission of the organisation.
General Medical Council Number: C4422514
Treatment information
Some of the principal treatments carried out by Professor Alexander Ford at Spire include:
Other treatments
- Sigmoidoscopy
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Important information about COVID-19 tests
COVID-19 testing or antibody tests are not available as a standalone service at Spire Leeds Hospital.
Additional information
Clinical interests
Bowel disease
Colonoscopy
Endoscopy
Gastrointestinal
Inflammatory bowel disease
Motility disorder
Special clinical interests: I have a special clinical interest in irritable bowel syndrome, dyspepsia, gastro-oesophageal reflux disease, Barrett’s oesophagus, peptic ulcer disease, coeliac disease and chronic constipation.
Qualification and professional memberships
MBChB / University of Leeds / 1997
Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery
MD / University of Leeds / 2006
Medical Doctor
FRCP / Royal College of Physicians, London / 2012
Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians
Professional memberships
British Society of Gastroenterology
Research and publications
- Peer reviewer, New England Journal of Medicine
- Peer reviewer, the Lancet
- Peer reviewer, Journal of the American Medical Association
- Peer reviewer, British Medical Journal
- International editorial board, Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology
- International editorial board, American Journal of Gastroenterology
Much of my research has been used to inform, and modify, guidelines for clinical practice on both a national and international level. Specific examples include:
- My MD thesis was used to inform the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines for the management of dyspepsia in adults in primary care and, as a result, I was acknowledged as a contributor to them
- My systematic reviews and meta-analyses of various therapies for irritable bowel syndrome, which were commissioned by the American College of Gastroenterology in order to inform their recently updated monograph on the management of the condition. I was the lead author on the task force document, which was published in The American Journal of Gastroenterology in 2014
Articles
Current NHS posts
Professor of gastroenterology, Leeds University
Consultant gastroenterologist, Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust
Personal profile
I am married, and live in Leeds. I enjoy reading literature, listening to music and have a passion for travelling, ever since I explored South Africa extensively while on my medical elective as a final year student.
In a four month break between jobs in 1998 I took the opportunity to visit Chile, Peru, Argentina, Australia, and Hong Kong. During my time as a research fellow, I travelled around the South Island of New Zealand for one month. More recently I backpacked around Cambodia and Vietnam, spent two weeks exploring Japan, and one month travelling in the Malaysian peninsula and Malaysian Borneo. While a clinical fellow in Canada I toured the country extensively, visiting Québec, Ontario, Alberta, and British Columbia.
Contact information
| Telephone | Insured patients 0113 218 5908/9, self-pay patients 0113 218 5967 |
| info@spireleeds.com | |
| Private secretary | Julie Mackintosh |
| Private secretary telephone | 07776 223 270 |
| Private secretary fax | 0113 253 6865 |
| Private secretary email | juliemackintosh@nhs.net |