Pancreas unit

We are a territory referral centre offering specialist advice to patients and other hospitals in Yorkshire. We treat 8,500 patients per year.

Services can be broadly divided into five main streams:

Cancer and Major Resections
Major complex biliary work
Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy and Day Case Procedures
Regional specialist services for pancreas
Acute pancreatitis

Inpatients

The inpatient service consists of a 32 inpatient bed base located on Ward J82 in Bexley Wing. The ward is shared with the Upper Gastro-intestinal and pancreas patients. Occasionally our patients will be cared for on another ward, if there are no available beds on the unit. We look after 5,500 inpatients each year, including both acute and elective patients.

Outpatients

We run outpatient clinics each week, generally on a Friday, and see approximately 3,000 patients each year. We aim to see patients in a timely manner from the time of referral. The outpatient clinics offer expert advice for pancreatic conditions as well as general surgery.

About us

Leeds Pancreas Unit has a strong philosophy of training and research. We believe that good training ultimately improves the care of patients. This means that some procedures are performed by trainees under the direct supervision of a Consultant. We encourage this, although if you do not want a trainee to perform your procedure, you can decline this.

Research projects are a part of our work and you will be contacted directly by a member of the research team to seek your specific consent for any research project.

The Pancreas Unit works closely with:

Intensive Care Unit (ITU) and High Dependency Unit (HDU): Our patients often require increased support and monitoring throughout their stay. Sometimes they will receive some of their care on these units. This can be as part of the routine care after major pancreatic surgery or in acute situations they may be transferred from the ward.

Microbiology: We work in close collaboration particularly with microbiology, especially with our complex acute pancreatitis patients. This is to guide our treatment if an infection occurs, offering tailored treatments for your care with us.

Dietetics / Nutrition: Nutrition is key to the wellbeing of our patients. There is a dietitian assigned to the Pancreas Unit who is available on the wards and in some instances follow patients up when they are seen in out-patient clinic. Our dieticians have developed strong links with the community dieticians and will be on hand to offer specialist advice for those with long term pancreatic problems.

Radiology: There are very strong established links with colleagues in radiology. They guide appropriate radiological investigation for a variety of pancreatic conditions and report scans. They also perform procedures such as drain insertions or biopsies to progress the investigation and aid speedy recovery for our patients.

GI Surgery: There are 18 Surgeons specialising in GI Surgery – four Pancreatic, five Upper Gastrointestinal, 11 Colorectal. Occasionally our patients will require specialist input from one of these teams.

Academic Medicine: We have strong links within the University of Leeds campus and regularly have trainee colleagues who you may come across including medical students, nursing students, trainee allied health professionals. The surgical team will include higher and core surgical trainees from Health Education Yorkshire & Humber, as well as overseas Fellows. We are keen to engage with our students to further their learning and help them along their career.

Useful links

There is a wealth of information available for further reading. Support groups are also a good way to help you learn more about diagnosis and treatment options and helps you to network with people who are in a similar situation to what you are.

Local Support Groups

Forward Leeds an alcohol and drug service in Leeds offering a wide range of services and help for adults, young people and families.
Macmillan Cancer Support improves the lives of people affected by cancer. They provide practical, medical and financial support and push for better cancer care. They provide booklets on cancer and treatments and run helplines providing cancer information and benefits advice as well as an interactive online community forum.
Maggie’s have drop-in centres located around the country where they can offer practical, emotional and social support to people with cancer and their families and friends. They also have the Maggie’s Online Centre, where people can communicate and share experiences with other people who have been affected by cancer.
Marie Curie provide care and support for people living with any terminal illness, whilst also supporting carers and family members. Marie Curie also provide information on practical support which is available to view online or accessible through their helpline.

Linked below are some local and external links we would recommend: –