Consultant Rheumatologist

Professor Karl Gaffney MB, BCh, BAO (Hons), FRCPI, FRCP


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Wednesday
Morning
Thursday
Morning
By special appointment


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Rheumatology is a specialty dedicated to the diagnosis and management of conditions which affect the bones, joints, muscles and connective (supporting) tissues. This ranges from simples soft-tissue problems to complex multisystem connective tissue disorders and systemic vasculitis.

As well as providing high quality medical care, Professor Gaffney works as part of a highly experienced multidisciplinary team incorporating dedicated musculoskeletal radiologists, neurophysiologists, specialist physiotherapists, nurse specialists and occupational therapists. He works closely with expert orthopaedic surgery colleagues and specialists in other areas allied to rheumatology.

He provides a full range of rheumatology services including intra-articular (joint) and soft-tissue injections, epidural injections, intra-venous therapies, immunosuppressive treatments, disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs and biological therapies. He has on-site access to all specialist laboratory and imaging modalities including MRI, CT, ultrasound and DEXA (Bone Densitometry).

Professor Gaffney has particular expertise and research interest in the management of axial spondyloarthritis (including ankylosing spondylitis), rheumatoid arthritis, adolescent rheumatology and osteoporosis.


Biography

Professor Karl Gaffney (MB, BCh, BAO Hons, FRCPI, FRCP) has been a Consultant Rheumatologist in Norwich since 1995 where he has established a large multidisciplinary service for over 1000 patients with axial spondyloarthritis (including ankylosing spondylitis). He is an honorary professor at Norwich Medical School, chair of the medical advisory board and trustee of the National Ankylosing Spondylitis Society, founder member and treasurer of BRITSpA, chair of the British Society for Rheumatology (BSR) axial SpA Biologics Guidelines Committee, member of the editorial board of Rheumatology for the Oxford University Press and an invited member of the Assessment of Spondyloarthritis International Society. He has also represented the BSR and NASS at the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) appraisal of biological therapies since 2007. He was Rheumatology Service Director from 2008 until 2016, Director of Postgraduate Education in Norwich between 1999 and 2005, and Director of Rheumatology Training, Eastern Deanery between 2001 and 2007.

With NASS he has co-developed primary and secondary care educational programmes for healthcare professionals including Back Pain Seminars, Meeting in a Box, Back in FocusSolving SpondyloarthritisNASS AlliesRCGP e-learning modules and Back Pain Plus. These initiatives have been awarded national and European awards for excellence in healthcare communication. In November 2016 he was recognised as an “Undercover Hero” at the inaugural NASS patient choice awards in the House of Commons. In 2017 he developed a Spondyloarthritis Academy to raise awareness and improve clinical services for people with axial SpA in the UK .

His current research interests include epidemiology, dose optimisation and extra-articular manifestations of axial SpA. He oversees a large clinical trials programme and collaborates with other national and international centres. He has published over 100 papers and has been an invited speaker at national and international meetings.


Current Posts

1996 – Present

Consultant Rheumatologist

Consultant Rheumatologist at The Norfolk & Norwich University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust


1996 – Present

Honorary Professor

Honorary professor at Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia.


2017 – Present

Consultant

Consultant at London Osteoporosis Clinic


Qualifications & Accreditations

  • MB BCH BAO (Hons) University College Dublin 1988
  • Member of the Royal College of Physicians (MRCPI) Ireland 1990
  • Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians (FRCPI) Dublin 2000
  • Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians (FRCP) London 2004
  • General Medical Council registration no. 3622210

Recent Awards and Recognition


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07440 171960

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