Derek first started his involvement in healthcare in the British Army (Royal Army Medical Corps) training as a nurse and subsequently working in the Operating Theatre. He served in a number of overseas stations during the late 1960s and early 1970s, he was recalled to Military service for the First Gulf War in 1991 and acted as Theatre Manager in a Field Hospital in Saudi Arabia.
Upon leaving the military he went to a Teaching Hospital in London training in Medical Physics. He spent a number of years in the commercial side of healthcare, including international sales and distribution before early retirement in 2007. He now has an Honorary Contract at The Christie Hospital in Manchester, UK – one of Europe’s leading cancer centres – and works part time in the Department of Radiology, training nursing and industry staff and educating patients. He was fundamental in setting-up the first UK gastrostomy clinic for patient support and is a regular member of the teaching faculty of the British Society of Interventional Radiology & The Society of Gastrointestinal Intervention participating in a series of masterclasses for GI intervention. He has extensive experience in delivering training to industry sales staff and teaching to nursing and medical staff at all levels.
Derek has co-authored a number of publications on GI stenting and has helped establish a research programme at the University of Chester, UK into safety aspects of interventional procedures and the failure mechanisms of GI stents, leading to an appointment as a Visiting Research Fellow.