Mr Paul Fricker

Clinical interests

Mr. Paul Fricker specialises in all aspects of adult clinical perfusion, with specific interests in management of the heart lung machine during complex surgery of the aorta, minimally invasive procedures, and long term cardiac devices that can support patients post operatively. Paul is also interested in the human factors aspect of cardiac surgery.

Professional profile

Paul graduated from the University of Portsmouth with a BSc (Hons) in Biomedical Science in 2003 and has been a qualified Clinical Perfusion Scientist since 2005 following completion of the BSc (Hons) in Clinical Perfusion. His perfusion career began at Papworth Hospital in Cambridge where he gained vast knowledge and experience in all aspects of perfusion, including cardiopulmonary bypass, heart and lung transplantation, organ retrieval, extra-corporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), and ventricular assist devices (VAD).  During this time he was also a media consultant for the BBC, advising for television programs such as Holby City.

He moved to St. Georges Hospital in January 2009 to further progress his career in perfusion as a Senior Clinical Perfusion Scientist, being responsible for training and education, mentoring staff members, writing and developing protocols for best practise, and stock procurement and management.

In 2012, Paul was elected to be a council member of the College of Clinical Perfusion Scientists of Great Britain and Ireland. During this time, he was also on the Safety Committee which is a joint committee with the Society of Clinical Perfusion Scientists of Great Britain and Ireland, whose role incorporates all issues relating to patient safety in perfusion. In 2017 Paul was nominated as the Honorary Secretary of the College Council, a role which he still enjoys today.

Paul became the Deputy Chief Clinical Perfusion Scientist at St. Georges Hospital in 2014. His current role is to support the Chief Clinical Perfusion Scientist (Simon Phillips) in leading the Perfusion team within the Trust, ensuring a high quality service is provided. This also involves being the line manager to the Clinical Perfusion Scientists and responsible for the operational delivery of the service. Paul is also a member of the faculty that developed and runs a SCTS endorsed human factors training course at St. Georges, using the Orpheus perfusion simulator.