Committee

Peter Monksfield

President

Peter Monksfield is a Consultant ENT Surgeon with a special interest in skull base surgery and hearing implants. He was appointed at the University Hospital Birmingham in 2010 and is also an honorary senior clinical lecturer at the University of Birmingham.

Peter graduated from the University of Manchester Medical School in 1997. Peter had ENT training in Oxford, London and completed higher surgical training in Birmingham and the West Midlands.

Following this, he undertook advanced fellowship training in Neurotology and cochlear implant surgery at the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital and the Royal Melbourne Hospital in Melbourne, Australia under the tutelage of Professor Robert Briggs.

Peter has a strong research interest in hearing loss and the use of implanted hearing devices.

Arun Iyer

President-elect

Mr Iyer is a consultant ENT surgeon & otologist at the University Hospital Monklands, Lanarkshire, Scotland and also Associate Professor (Hon) at the University of Glasgow.  He was trained in the Newcastle rotation and did Otology/Neurotology fellowship at Auckland City Hospital and Starship Children's Hospital, New Zealand. His special interests are endoscopic ear surgery, chronic otitis media especially mastoid cavity obliteration and management of dizziness. He is a executive board member of the international working group in endoscopic ear surgery (IWGEES).  Mr Iyer is the college surgical tutor & Education and professional training board member for Otolaryngology at the Royal College of Physicians & Surgeons of Glasgow. He is the organiser of the Endoscopic ear surgery  course, emergency ENT dissection course, head & neck and emergency ENT course and the temporal bone dissection courses at Glasgow University.

Simon Lloyd

Past President 

Simon Lloyd is a neuro-otologist and skull base surgeon at the Manchester Royal Infirmary and Salford Royal Hospital. He is also Honorary Professor of Neuro-otology at the University of Manchester. His clinical practice focuses on skull base disease, auditory implantation, complex middle ear disease and neurofibromatosis type 2.

Matthew Smith

Secretary

Mr Matthew Smith is a consultant ENT surgeon at Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Trust. He specialises in the medical and surgical management of disorders of hearing and balance in adults and children, and is part of the Cambridge Hearing Implant multidisciplinary team which is part of the UK’s largest cochlear implant centre. Mr Smith has a particular interest in Eustachian tube dysfunction runs a specialist clinic for this condition. 

Mr Smith is a surgeon-scientist, and holds the position of Senior Research Associate in the University of Cambridge. He collaborates across a range of University departments and leads a portfolio of clinical research projects, with most focussing on hearing and ear disorders. He completed a PhD at the University of Cambridge exploring the diagnosis and treatment of Eustachian tube disorders. During his specialist Training Mr Smith co-founded and then Chaired INTEGRATE, the UK ENT Trainee Research Network, which has delivered several important national studies. 

Mr Smith is a member of the British Society of Otology council and is the Otology section Associate Editor for the well-respected Clinical Otolaryngology Journal. He has published book chapters and has authored over 60 academic papers.

Jonny Harcourt

Treasurer

Jonny Harcourt (MA Oxon) MBBS (hons) FRCS, Consultant Otologist and Skullbase surgeon, Charing Cross and Chelsea and Westminster Hospitals, London.

I have been a Consultant Otologist/Neurotologist for 24 years at Charing Cross (Imperial NHS Trust). I have previously been president of the British Skullbase Society, committee member of the British Society of Neurotology and multiple roles on the Otology section of the RSM as well as being a faculty member of the Combined Universities Advanced Otology course for more than 20 years. I have a particular interest in Ménière’s disease.

Priya Achar

Academic Lead

Priya Achar is a consultant ENT surgeon with special interest in Otology, Hearing implants and Skull base surgery in Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust since 2018. She also participates in Undergraduate Medical School teaching in University of Nottingham and in higher surgical training in ENT in East Midlands deanery.

Priya graduated from Mumbai University, India in 1999 and completed her postgraduate training in ENT from Lokmanya Tilak Municipal General Hospital, Mumbai University to become a consultant in 2003. She migrated to UK in 2004 and underwent higher surgical training in Mersey and Northwest deanery. She subsequently undertook fellowships in Complex Otology and hearing implants in Guys and St Thomas Hospital, London and in Lateral Skull Base surgery and Hearing Implants in Salford Hospital and Manchester University Hospitals.

She has a strong interest in Education and training.

Charlie Huins

Educational Lead

Charlie Huins is a consultant at the University Hospitals Birmingham (UHB) in Birmingham.

Owen Judd

Balance Course Lead

Professor Owen Judd is Consultant Ear, Nose and Throat Surgeon at the Royal Derby Hospital. He qualified from the University of Nottingham in 1998. His special interests are Otology and Laryngology, specifically balance problems, facial pain and migraine along with facial paralysis/weakness. He performs total endoscopic ear surgery for all aspects of his otology surgical practice. His research interests include migraine, balance problems and voice disorders and he has published over 60 scientific papers, 6 book chapters and two text books.  He teaches many medical students and junior doctors and holds an honorary academic position with the University of Nottingham as well as serving as their Clinical Sub-Dean.

Paramita Baruah

BSO Council Member

Paramita Baruah was appointed Consultant ENT Surgeon at the University Hospitals of Leicester in 2018. She studied medicine at JIPMER Pondicherry India and ENT at All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi. She completed higher surgical training in ENT in the West Midlands Deanery and undertook an implant and lateral skull base fellowship in Birmingham, UK.  She has an active clinical practice in adult and paediatric otology. She has a strong interest in research and undertook a PhD in Immunology in Milan, Italy and a post-doctoral fellowship at Imperial College London. She is currently an Honorary Senior Clinical Research fellow with the University of Birmingham with ongoing research on immune responses in vestibular schwannoma, head and neck paraganglioma, necrotising otitis externa and cholesteatoma.

Will Hellier

BSO Council member

Mood Bhutta

BSO Council member

Mahmood is the inaugural chair in ENT ant Brighton & Sussex Medical School.  His research includes broad aspects of ear and hearing care (including in low resource settings) and sustainable healthcare.

Sanjay Verma

BSO Council member

Sanjay Verma is a Consultant neuro-otologist and Skull Base surgeon at the Leeds Teaching hospitals NHS Trust.  He studied at St John's College, Cambridge, with further training in the Cambridge region.  He has also undertaken Fellowship training in Toronto, Canada, and the Causse clinic in Beziers, France.  He has busy adult and paediatric ENT practises, with subspecialist interests in laser ear surgery and implantable hearing devices.  Sanjay is also Clinical Lead at Leeds for the Skull Base (Acoustic neuroma) ENT service and the Joint ENT/ Neurology balance clinic.

He is committed to training the next generation of surgeons. He has been the appointed Royal College of Surgeons Tutor for Leeds and, presently, he is Educational Lead for the Head and Neck Directorate.  Nationally, he also serves on the ENT UK committee for Global Health.

Ananth Vijendren

BSO Council member

Mr Ananth Vijendren is a Consultant ENT Surgeon with a sub-specialty interest in adult and paediatric ear-related diseases, balance and hearing reconstruction/implantation. He qualified from the University of Southampton and undertook his postgraduate training in the Wessex and East of England regions. He was awarded the internationally prestigious Otology and Hearing Implant fellowship at Addenbrookes Hospital, Cambridge, where he gained further experience in complex ear, hearing reconstruction and auditory implantation surgery before joining the East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust in 2019. His clinical practice involves being lead for the trust hearing, balance and transnasal oesophagoscopy services. In addition to his clinical work, Mr Vijendren is enthusiastic about advancements and research within the field of Otology and occupational hazards affecting ENT surgeons. He has a keen interest in teaching and training the next generation of clinicians and is Otology section editor for E-lefent and co-creator / Senior Editor for the www.entsho.com and www.ent4gp.com websites.

Nick Saunders

BSO Council member

I am an Intercollegiate examiner, council member of the Otology section of the RSM and ENT clinical lead for Sussex ICS. I would love to help forge closer links between the BSO and the RSM, and to help represent otology in one of the most challenging times in the NHS’s history.

Joe Manjaly

BSO Council member

Joe Manjaly works as a consultant at University College London (UCL) in London.

Bhav Patel

BSO Council member

Bhav is a Consultant ENT Surgeon with a particular interest in awake ear surgery, endoscopic ear surgery, and hearing restoration. He qualified from Imperial College London, followed by basic and higher surgical training across the North Thames region of London. He has further developed his practice through observational and hand on visits to international leading centres in Vienna, Copenhagen, France, Italy, and Nepal.

He is based at Northwick Park Hospital, where he performs a high volume of stapes (approx. 50/year) and tympanomastoid (approx. 40/year) procedures, alongside a growing auditory implant service, which he helped establish through the introduction of bone conduction hearing implants. He also maintains an active interest in sinus surgery and olfactory disorders.

Bhav has a particular interest in surgical innovation. His work has included the introduction of robotic microscope technology to ENT practice, the use of shoulder exoskeletons in surgery, and the development of novel techniques in awake endoscopic ear surgery.  His particular interests include the deconstruction and cultivation dexterity, crafts based simulation, the role mental performance in surgery and surgical wellness.

In parallel with his clinical work, Bhav is committed to education and training. He holds a Master’s degree (with Distinction) in Surgical Education from Imperial College and is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. He serves as Academic Tutor at Imperial College and Specialty Lead at Brunel Medical School. He champions the ‘flipped classroom’ pedagogical approach in ENT and has created two educational YouTube channels—ENT Flashcards and London ENT Surgery—which support ENT trainees both in the UK and internationally.

Rob Grounds

BSO Council member

Mr. Robert Grounds is a Consultant specializing in Otology (ear surgery) and Lateral Skull Base Surgery at University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust (Brighton, Worthing and Haywards Heath). He sits with the specialist panels in the hospital (MDT) for Hearing Implants and Lateral Skull Base Surgery (disorders at the interface of the ears, brain and balance system).

In 2021, after completion of ENT training in Kent, Surrey, Sussex and London, he was awarded the prestigious TWJ Fellowship to travel to Vancouver, Canada where he gained experience in Cochlear Implantation, Complex ear surgery, dizziness and tinnitus and Lateral Skull base surgery. 

He has a strong interest in education receiving a Master's Degree in Surgical Education with Distinction from Imperial College in 2021.  He has worked with both the British Medical Journal, and Royal College of Surgeons of England to develop educational material on their behalf. At a local level he is the training lead for ENT doctors in Worthing Hospital and teaches on numerous courses as well as running the annual Brighton Temporal bone course. His research has been published in scientific Journals including the British Medical Journal (BMJ), Royal College of Surgeons Journal and numerous ENT Journals and focusses on efficiency and surgical planning in the NHS.

He has received prizes from the Royal College of Surgeons of England, a scholarship to undertake a Master’s Degree at Imperial College London, and numerous prizes for presenting his research and clinical work at National Scientific conferences to other ENT doctors in the UK and around the world. 

Outside of work, he is a keen musician having been trained to a high standard and has previous played alongside household names at major venues. Having had to undergo extensive ear surgery himself as a child he is able to truly empathise with patients with ear conditions and understands how difficult it can be for patients suffering with hearing and balance problems. Finally, as a husband and father of two young children, he keeps busy in his spare time with his family. 

Ben Silver

BSO Council member