Paul Hilton
Consultant Gynaecologist & Urogynaecologist (Honorary Senior Lecturer in Urogynaecology)

  • Email: paul.hilton@ncl.ac.uk
  • Telephone: +44 (0)191-2825853
  • Fax: +44 (0)191-2825873
  • Address: Directorate of Women's Services
    Level 5, Leazes Wing
    Royal Victoria Infirmary
    Newcastle upon Tyne
    NE1 4LP

Introduction

I graduated in medicine from Newcastle University in 1974, and my early postgraduate training in obstetrics & gynaecology was in the north-east of England. After a period of research in urogynaecology at St George's Hospital Medical School, London, I was appointed to the University initially as First Assistant in 1981, and became Senior Lecturer (honorary consultant) in Obstetrics and Gynaecology in 1983. In order to further my main clinical and research interest in urogynaecology, I moved to an NHS post as Consultant Gynaecologist and Urogynaecologist (with honorary Senior Lecturer status) in 1991.  I now lead a tertiary level urogynaecology service of national and international reputation.  Particular clinical interests include urodynamic investigation, conservative and surgical management of primary and recurrent pelvic floor dysfunction, and reconstructive surgery for congenital abnormalities of the genital tract; I provide a de facto supra-regional service for management of urogenital fistula which currently handles 20% of the UK workload.

Qualifications

MB, BS (Newcastle upon Tyne) 1974
MD (Newcastle upon Tyne) 1981
MRCOG 1979; FRCOG 1996

Previous Positions

Clinical Research Fellow, Urodynamic Unit, St George’s Hospital Medical School, London, 1979-1981.
First Assistant (honorary Senior Registrar) in Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Newcastle University, 1981-1983.
Senior Lecturer (honorary Consultant) in Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Newcastle University, 1983-1991.

Memberships

  • International Continence Society.
  • Blair-Bell Research Society.
  • International Urogynecologists Association. 
  • North of England Obstetrical and Gynaecological Society.
  • Society for Urodynamics and Female Urology (elected member).
  • UK Continence Society.
  • British Association of Urological Surgeons.
  • Northern Deanery Urogynaecology Interest Group.
  • European Association of Urologists.
  • European Society for Female Urology.
  • British Society of Urogynaecologists.
  • BAUS – Section for Female and Reconstructive Urology (founder member).
  • Society of Gynecologic Surgeons (honorary member).
  • European Urogynaecology Association.
  • International Consultation on Incontinence - Research Society.
  • Society for Clinical Trials.

Honours and Awards

  • William Blair-Bell Memorial Lectureship, Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists; 1983.
  • Green Armytage and Spackman Travelling Scholarship, Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists; 1989.
  • Visiting Professor, University of Auckland, New Zealand; 1991.
  • Historical Lecturer, Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists; 1992.
  • Florence and William Blair-Bell Memorial Fellowship, Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and WellBeing Research Advisory Committee; 1993.
  • Charter Day Lecturer and Visiting Professor, National Maternity Hospital, Dublin; 1999.
  • Honorary membership, Society of Gynecologic Surgeons; 2002.
  • Victor Bonney Prize Lectureship, Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists; 2005.
  • Sims Black Travelling Professorship to visit Nakuru, Eldoret, Nairobi & Mombasa, Kenya; 2011.

Research Interests

  • Algorithms and expert systems in urogynaecology.
  • Management of urinary incontinence in the elderly.
  • Assessment of normal and abnormal urethral function.
  • Urethral response to treatment in stress incontinence.
  • Steroids hormone receptors and cell cycle proteins in the lower urinary tract.
  • Sexuality and lower urinary tract function.
  • Epidemiology of urogental fistula.
  • Functional abnormalities of the lower urinary tract in association with urogental fistula.
  • Ambulatory bladder pressure monitoring in asymptomatic and symptomatic women.
  • Prosthetic materials in surgery for stress incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse.
  • Randomised trials in urogynaecology (8 RCT’s completed).
  • Economic aspects of surgery for stress incontinence. 
  • Prevalence and obstetric antecedents of pelvic floor dysfunction.
  • HIV testing in the Termination of Pregnancy and Colposcopy services in a city of increasing HIV prevalence.
  • Urogenital fistula - the current position in England based on Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) data.
  • Systematic review of mid-urethral tape for recurrent stress urinary incontinence (Cochrane).  

Current Work

  • Physiotherapy following surgery for uterovaginal prolapse (SUPER).
  • Clinical utility of urodynamic investigation prior to surgery for stress urinary incontinence (INVESTIGATE-I).
  • Beyond Oestrogen Treatment: Unlocking the Ability of Beta-Defensin-2 to Prevent Urinary Tract Infection in Post-menopausal Women. 
  • Antibiotic treatment for intermittent bladder catheterisation: a randomised controlled trial of once daily prophylaxis (the AnTIC study).
  • Outcomes from surgery for pelvic organ prolapse - based on Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) data.
  • The risks of uretero-vaginal fistula at hysterectomy - the current position in England based on Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) data.

 

Research Roles

  • Reviewer for 15 scientific journals.
  • Editorial Board of International Urogynecology Journal (1988-2007).
  • Previously scientific Editor for BJOG (2006-2010).
  • Member of WHO/ICUD/ICS International Consultations on Incontinence (Urodynamics committee 1997-1999, 2000-2002; Basic assessment committee 2003-2005; Surgery in women committee 2007-2009; Fistula committee 2011-2012)
  • Member of NICE Interventional Procedures Advisory Committee (2002-2007).
  • Chair of NICE Guideline Development Group on Urinary Incontinence (2004-2007).
  • Member of HTA Therapeutics Procedures Panel (2007-2008), and Clinical Evaluations & Trials Prioritisation Panel (2008-2010).
  • RCOG Guidelines Committee (2007-2010).
  • Member of James Lind Alliance Working Group on Research Priorities in Urinary Incontinence (2007-2009).
  • Member of WHO/ICUD/ICS/AUA Evidence Based Urology Group (EBUro).
  • Member of ICUD/SIU International Consultation on Obstetric Vesicovaginal Fisula 2010-2011.
 

Esteem Indicators

  • Prize for best oral presentation at annual meeting, International Continence Society, Oslo, Norway; 1988.
  • Florence and William Blair-Bell Memorial Fellowship, Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and WellBeing Research Advisory Committee; 1993.
  • Prize for best poster presentation, British Congress of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Dublin; 1995.
  • Prize for best oral presentation at annual meeting, International Urogynecologists Association, Melbourne, Australia; 2001.
  • BJOG: an international journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology - one of the 'top rated reviewers’ (based on the number of reviews, the quality and the turnaround time) in 2006, 2010, 2011 & 2012.
  • BJOG: an international journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology  ‘Most cited paper’, 2008.
  • Over 4000 citations in Google Scholar; 'h-index' - 31; 'i10-index' - 58.

 

Funding

  • Newcastle Health Authority, £15,245, 1983 (CI).
  • Nuffield Foundation, £2,000, 1984 (CI).
  • Newcastle Health Authority, £15,605, 1986 (CI).
  • Medical Research Council, £23,416, 1990 (PI).
  • Northern Regional Health Authority, £23,600, 1993 (CI).
  • Northern Regional Health Authority, £23,600, 1994 (CI).
  • WellBeing, £34,220, 1994 (CI).
  • Florence & William Blair-Bell Memorial Fellowship, £20,000, 1994 (CI).
  • WellBeing, £72,996, 1995-1996 (CI).
  • Johnson & Johnson, £92,490, 1997-2000 (PI)
  • Johnson & Johnson, £1,000,000, 1997-2003 (CI).
  • GyneIdeas, £77,000, 2001-2003 (PI).
  • Newcastle Healthcare Charity, £24,000, 2003-2004 (CI).
  • Physiotherapy Research Foundation, £70,000, 2010-2012 (PI).
  • NIHR-HTA, £429,624, 2011-2012 (CI). 
  • Wellbeing of Women, £151,417, 2011-2012 (PI).
  • Gilead Foundation £8,500, 2011-2012 (Co-app). 
  • NIHR-HTA, £1,978,426, 2013-2017 (Co-app). 

Projects

Undergraduate Teaching

  • Organiser of Stage I and Stage II lecture courses in Human Reproduction, 1983-1991.
  • Examiner for MB, BS, Newcastle 1983-present.
  • Teaching of undergraduate medical students at all levels, involving formal lectures, seminars, and clinical teaching, 1981-present.
  • Supervision of undergraduate dissertations/literature reviews/research projects/student-selected components.
  • Tutor for undergraduate medical students.
  • Participation in teaching of pupil midwives, 1979-1991.
  • Internal hospital examiner for Midwifery students, 1985-1991.

Postgraduate Teaching

  • Organiser of Regional Part 1 MRCOG course, 1984-1993.
  • Organiser of Regional Part 2 MRCOG course, 1998-2000.
  • Teacher on Regional Part 2 MRCOG course, 1983-present.
  • Examiner for DRCOG, 1985-1999.
  • Examiner for MRCOG, 2000-present.
  • RCOG Hospital Specialty Tutor, 1983-1992, 1996-1998.
  • Regional Specialty Training Committee (O&G), 1983-1993 (chair 1989-1993).
  • Regional Registrar and Senior Registrar Rotation Co-ordinator, 1989-1994.
  • Regional Policy Board for Post-graduate Medical Education, 1993-2000.
  • Deanery Training Programme Director (O&G), 1998-2000.
  • Local Medical Workforce Advisory Group, 1997-2002.
  • External examiner for higher degrees at Universites of Aberdeen, Belfast, Bradford, Leicester, Manchester, London, Maastricht, Perth and Sydney.
  • Supervision of post-graduate research including candidates submitting for higher degree.
  • Co-director Newcastle Certificate Course on Urodynamics, 2002-present.
  • Director Newcastle Obstetric Perineal Trauma Course, 2002-present.
  • Northern Deanery Preceptor for ATSM in Urogynaecology & Benign Vaginal Surgery, 2007-present.
  • Lecturer on DoH Modernising Scientific Careers course on Urodynamics, 2011-present.