East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust will say farewell at the end of the month to highly acclaimed Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon, Professor Robin Paton who is retiring after 31 years of service to the NHS.
Professor Paton has been pivotal to the development and delivery of orthopaedic surgery in East Lancashire and has held variety of roles during his time at the Trust. He has been an inspiration for many orthopaedic surgeons in training, giving up large parts of his own time to provide support, guidance, mentorship, research expertees and many other roles to ensure the next generation of Orthopaedic Surgeons are well trained.
His orthopaedic training began in the Northwest of England (including at the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital and Wrightington Hospital) and an AO Fellowship in Stuttgart. He was appointed as a Consultant Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgeon with a special interest in Children’s Orthopaedic Surgery and Adult Hip and Knee Surgery at the Blackburn Royal Infirmary in 1991.
He was an examiner for the FRCS (T&O) from 1999 to 2013, hosting the examination at Royal Blackburn Hospital on one occasion. He has also examined in the Joint Specialty Fellowship examinations in Hong Kong and Singapore. He is a visiting Professor at UCLAN and in 2013 was part of the team that developed the new medical school.
Since 2016, Professor Paton has been a member of the Council of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh and he will continue in this role after leaving the Trust. He has a nationally and internationally recognised research portfolio and in recognition of this he was awarded the John Sharrard Memorial medal (David Trevor lecture), BSCOS (2012) and the King James IV Professorship from the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (2016). He was also invited to deliver the Sir Walter Mercer Lecture at the British Orthopaedic Association meeting in Aberdeen in 2021.
All his colleagues in orthopaedics at ELHT have paid tribute to Professor Patonfor everything he has done throughout his career and wish him well in his next adventures.
Mr Andrew Sloan:
“Robin’s retirement will leave a huge hole in the Orthopaedic Department. Consultants like Robin don’t come around that often and his support as a colleague and friend has been immeasurable to many.”
Mr Qaisar Choudry:
“Professor Paton has led the Paediatric Service at ELHT single-handedly for the majority of his career. He has established ELHT as a sub-tertiary Paediatric Unit and has made a huge impact on thousands of children’s lives. As a friend and colleague he will be missed.”
