Dr Safa Al-Shamma

Qualifications
MB ChB with Commendation, FRCP (Edin)
Speciality
Gastroenterology
Enquiries
About
Dr Safa Al-Shamma graduated from Dundee University with Commendation in 2002. He trained in general and acute medicine in Scotland, followed by a respiratory and intensive care medicine rotations at the Royal Brompton Hospital in London, one of the top respiratory hospitals in the world. He then joined the gastroenterology training programme at Mersey Deanery.
Dr Al-Shamma later completed a specialist hepatology and liver transplantation fellowship at The Royal London Hospital and then King’s College London, the top UK transplant centre. Subsequently, he was appointed as a consultant gastroenterologist with a special interest in hepatology at The Royal Bournemouth Hospital (part of University Hospitals Dorset) since early 2011.
Dr Al-Shamma was appointed head of the gastroenterology department at the Royal Bournemouth Hospital 2018-2021, leading the department through a merger process and the COVID challenges. He was then appointed the deputy director of medical education at UHD in 2021-24 due his significant involvement in training and education. He has numerous national roles including secretary of the MRCP part I Exam Board and the Specialist Certificate Exam Board for higher trainees.
Dr Al-shamma is currently the secretary of The British Society of Gastroenterology (BSG.) This is a senior national role in the UK’s main gastroenterology society and is responsible for the educational programme, annual conference and member services. He sits on the BSG council and executive committees, with responsibility for furthering UK gastroenterology and hepatology care provision and healthcare professionals education, training and support.
Dr Al-Shamma is trained as a gastroenterologist and manages a wide range of gastrointestinal conditions including inpatient and outpatient settings. He also has particular expertise in managing all aspects of liver disease following his specialist hepatology and liver transplant fellowships. This includes investigation of abnormal liver function tests, management of fatty liver, haemochromatosis, viral hepatitis, fibroscanning and work-up for liver transplantation. He also set up and leads a County wide complex hepatology clinic including hepatocellular cancer management.
Dr Al-Shamma additionally has a particular interest in complex colonoscopy as one of three endoscopists performing advanced and complex colonoscopy procedures at the Royal Bournemouth Hospital. His endoscopy outcomes, as benchmarked nationally, is well above the average throughout the UK and currently one of the top in the UK based on nationally collected data (JAG database.)
Finally, Dr Al-Shamma has an active research interest including fatty liver disease, viral hepatitis and IBS, having collaborated with different institutions and commercial partners to deliver clinical trials.
Procedures & Treatments
- Abnormal liver function test work-up, fibroscanning and interpretation
- Abdominal pain, jaundice
- Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (now known as steaotic liver disease/MASLD)
- Liver cirrhosis and complications and transplant work-up
- Advanced endoscopy and colonoscopy
- Change in bowel habits, anaemia, upper GI symptoms