Mr Welbourn said: “I’m thrilled to bits with this new position, which will be in addition to my role as a surgeon at the trust.”
Richard first became interested in bariatric surgery in 2002 when the first round of National Institute for Clinical Effectiveness (NICE) guidance came out.
He attended an international meeting of surgeons who were involved in keyhole surgery when it was in its infancy, and one of the topics covered included using this method for bariatric surgery, something he didn’t know much about at that time.
Mr Welbourn added: “Seeing videos of these type of operations being performed for the first time was really inspiring and I felt it was the real beginning of a revolution for bariatric surgery.
“Despite some misconceptions, bariatric surgery isn’t just about making people thin, it’s actually about making people well by reducing their weight and improving their quality of life. For example, the surgery can help a person’s diabetes and other weight-related diseases to go into remission.”
Inspired by what he saw at the conference, Richard played a huge role in bringing this type of surgery to MPH, where he performed the first ever gastric bypass via keyhole surgery at the hospital in 2004.
Richard continued: “Our efforts in Somerset led to us being the first NHS trust in the UK to be accredited as an International Center of Excellence by the US Surgical Review Corporation, a non-profit, patient safety organisation that develops and administers best-in-class accreditation programmes for medical professionals, surgeons, hospitals and outpatient departments throughout the world.
“This meant we were very much the leading NHS trust in the UK for bariatric surgery. We’ve continued to be reaccredited by the corporation ever since, and are still the only trust in the UK to have this.”
Richard, together with Jane Blazeby, Professor of Surgery at the University of Bristol, started a world-leading study called the By-Band-Sleeve study.
Richard explained “The study, which is running in 12-centres, will assess the level of weight loss and quality of life for three different bariatric operations – the gastric bypass, gastric sleeve and gastric band – to try to work out which is the best operation to use in the NHS.
“I’m confident that the results of the study will change clinical practice in this country, and perhaps even the world.
“My appointment by the University of Bristol is very much a recognition of all the hard work done over the years by everyone who’s been involved in the study in Somerset.
“It’s great that we have such strong links with organisations such as the University of Bristol, as academic institutes have such vast research expertise.”
Professor Jane Blazeby, from the University of Bristol, and Chief Investigator of the By-Band-Sleeve study, said: “It’s been a pleasure working with Richard over the past 15 years. His leadership, academic insights and hard work has ensured that the NIHR By-Band-Sleeve study and other projects have been successfully completed. He has made enormous contributions to metabolic and bariatric surgery to benefit people living with severe obesity.”