Vivek AboutI am presently a gastroenterologist based at the Royal Gwent Hospital. I started my Gastroenterology training in East Yorkshire in 2000. In 2001 I moved to South Wales and continued my training in Newport and Cardiff. 

In 2005 I joined the Royal Gwent Hospital and have been a Consultant Gastroenterologist based at the Royal Gwent and also do sessions at YYF. 

I am a luminal Gastroenterologist and Advanced endoscopist. I am an accredited Colonoscopist for Bowel Cancer Screening with expertise in complex polyp removal, endoscopic mucosal resection. I am an expert in mucosal visualisation techniques including Trimodal Imaging for Barrett's Oesophagus, Chromoendoscopy for colitis screening.

I am the Clinical Lead for Inflammatory Bowel Disease for Aneurin Bevan Health Board. We have three IBD Clinical Nurse Specialists across the Health Board with dedicated IBD clinics. We have also set up multidisciplinary IBD meetings with our surgical colleagues for managing complicated IBD patients.

I am also involved in Multidisciplinary management of Chronic Abdominal Pain with a gynaecologist, pain consultant, dietician, psychologist and physiotherapist.

I have been actively involved in medical research. I have been involved in drug trials, recent ones include CONSTRUCT trial which compared the use of Infliximab versus Ciclosporin in Acute Severe Colitis and PANTS study which looked at high dose 5 ASA drugs in Crohns disease. I continue to be involved in various trials and we always on the lookout for patients to join our trials.

I am involved in medical education and training (Training Programme Director for Wales, PACES host examiner for MRCP and member of the QWG for Gastroenterology Speciality exam of the Royal College of Physicians). I am an executive member of the Welsh Association of Gastroenterology and Endoscopy (WAGE) and member of various committees of British Society of Gastroenterology(BSG). I am a member of the executive committee of the British Medical Association, Cardiff division and represent my medical colleagues on the LNC for the health board.