My clinic at The Shard, London Bridge

I hold my Friday clinic at The Shard Outpatients, HCA Healthcare UK’s outpatient centre at the foot of The Shard on St Thomas Street. It sits within the London Bridge Hospital campus, so the consultation, most of the scans you are likely to need and, if it comes to it, your operation all happen within a few minutes’ walk of one another. For men travelling in by train from Kent, Sussex, Surrey or south London, it is usually the easiest of my clinics to reach, because London Bridge is a mainline terminus as well as an Underground interchange.

I am a consultant urological surgeon and andrologist. Most of the men I see at The Shard come with a problem in one of my specialist areas — fertility, sexual function, reconstruction of the urethra or penis — but I also see general urology problems here, and first consultations, second opinions and follow-ups all take place in the same clinic.

What do you see at The Shard clinic?

The clinic covers the full range of my practice. The most common reasons men are referred to me here are:

• Male infertility and abnormal semen analysis, including azoospermia (no sperm in the ejaculate)
• Planning microsurgical vasectomy reversal, surgical sperm retrieval or varicocele surgery
• Low testosterone, especially where fertility also matters
• Peyronie’s disease and erectile dysfunction, including assessment for a penile implant
• Urethral stricture and decisions about urethroplasty, Optilume or endoscopic treatment
• Problems after prostate cancer surgery — erections, continence and penile rehabilitation
• Foreskin conditions, lichen sclerosus and buried penis

A first consultation is a full assessment: a detailed history, an examination where it is needed, a review of any results you bring, and a plan that you leave with in writing. If tests are needed I will explain what each one is for and roughly what it will cost before anything is requested.

Can tests and scans be done on the same day?

Often, yes. The Shard Outpatients has its own imaging department — MRI, CT, ultrasound, X-ray and fluoroscopy among others — so a scrotal ultrasound or a scan of the kidneys or bladder can frequently be done during the same visit. In many cases the results can be reviewed with you before you leave, which saves a second trip into London. Blood tests, including the hormone tests that are part of any fertility or low testosterone assessment, can also be taken on site.

The centre is one of HCA Healthcare UK’s bladder function testing locations, so urodynamic studies — the tests that measure how the bladder fills and empties — can be arranged here when they are needed, for example before deciding on treatment for incontinence after prostate surgery. Semen analysis is carried out in an accredited andrology laboratory; my team will tell you where and how to provide the sample, because the timing and the period of abstinence beforehand both affect the result.

Where would my operation take place?

Operations for my private patients are carried out at London Bridge Hospital, 27 Tooley Street, London SE1 2PR, part of HCA Healthcare UK’s London Bridge Hospital campus. It has private en-suite rooms, a JAG-accredited endoscopy unit and a robotic theatre, and it is where I perform microsurgery for male infertility, reconstructive surgery and penile implant surgery. Fertility procedures such as microTESE are planned with embryology support in place, because sperm found in theatre has to be processed and frozen straight away.

If you are recommended surgery, you will receive a written quotation that sets out the surgeon’s fee, the anaesthetist’s fee and the hospital charges separately before anything is booked. Insured patients are given the procedure code they need to obtain authorisation.

London Bridge Hospital is on Tooley Street, on the other side of London Bridge station from The Shard, so if you are seen in clinic and then admitted for a day-case procedure you stay within the same small area.

How do I get to The Shard Outpatients?

The address is The Shard Outpatients, The Shard, 32 St Thomas Street, London SE1 9BS.

• By Underground: London Bridge station is on the Jubilee and Northern lines and is about a two-minute walk away. On leaving the station, follow the signs for The Shard.
• By rail: London Bridge is served by Southern, Southeastern and Thameslink trains, which makes the clinic straightforward to reach by train from Kent, Sussex, Surrey and south-east London.
• By bus: routes 35, 47, 133, 343, 381 and RV1, among others, stop at London Bridge Station or The Shard.
• By taxi: ask to be dropped at The Shard, St Thomas Street, SE1 9BS.

Is there parking near The Shard?

Parking in the immediate area is limited, so public transport is usually easier. If you need to drive, there is an NCP car park around four minutes’ walk from the centre, and HCA can sometimes provide a parking discount code — mention it when your appointment is booked.

Is the clinic accessible?

The outpatient centre has lift access throughout. Patients are generally asked to attend on their own, but if you would like a partner, relative or carer with you — which is common, and often helpful, in fertility consultations — let my PA know in advance so that the centre can expect them.

How do I book an appointment?

All appointments are arranged by my PA, Jeanette Bush, on 07889 318584 or by email at Jeanette.Bush@HCAHealthcare.co.uk. The office is staffed Monday to Friday, 09:00–16:00, and you can also send an enquiry online at any time. When you get in touch it helps to say briefly what the problem is, whether you have had any tests already, and whether you are paying for yourself or using insurance — that lets us book the right length of appointment at the right clinic.

If you are paying for yourself, you do not need a GP referral. An in-person initial consultation is £350, a video or telephone initial consultation £300 and a follow-up £250; investigations are charged separately by the hospital and you are told the cost before anything is arranged. If you are using private medical insurance, most insurers will want a referral letter and a pre-authorisation code before the first visit. All the details are on the fees and insurance page.

Consultations can be held in English, Hindi, Punjabi or Urdu.

Other ways to see me

On Mondays I hold a clinic at Canary Wharf Outpatients, 40 Bank Street, which may be more convenient if you work in Docklands or live in east London. Video and telephone consultations are also available, and are well suited to reviewing results, second opinions and follow-up. A physical examination is normally needed before surgery is planned, so most men have at least one face-to-face appointment before an operation.