Mr. Tony Walker appointed as the Training Program Director for Cardiothoracic Surgery in NW and Mersey

Mr. Tony Walker, Consultant Cardiac Surgeon, has been appointed as the Training Program Director for Cardiothoracic Surgery in the Northwest and Mersey.

This appointment is a progression from Tony’s current role at BTH which includes many years of service as the Educational Lead within the Cardiac department.

Tony said “The role is about being the link between the trainees on the ‘shop floor’ and the school of surgery. Trainees are seen twice a year for an Annual Review of Competency Progression (ARCP) to ensure their suitability to progress. Good surgical training is such a huge factor in patient safety. However due to the high costs of surgical training, another element is to reduce the likelihood of trainees leaving or ‘failing’ the programme.

I feel very passionately that training should be as much of a sub-speciality as some surgical techniques – I hope to be a louder voice for that. It will bring about greater engagement with trainers and help to support them (another area I’m keen to develop – a regular training support network for those who want to be involved in surgical training.

I believe Blackpool should have had this role years ago, it is the best training centre in the North West / Mersey collaboration, however due our location rather than our caseload, we are perhaps all too often, incorrectly seen as a smaller centre.

I hope to translate our local success across the patch – lifting everyone up to the standards that we set here.”

Dr David Rose, Head of Cardiothoracic Surgery said “This is a prestigious and well-deserved appointment that reflects Tony’s dedication, expertise, and many years of service as the Educational Lead within our department. His passion for teaching and education has been instrumental in shaping the experience of our trainees, and I am confident that both current and future trainees will greatly benefit from his leadership in this new role. This achievement brings immense prestige to our department and highlights our ongoing commitment to excellence in training and education. We will continue to support the training of cardiac surgery in our department and work alongside Tony to ensure the program flourishes under his guidance.”