About us: who & why?
Mr Simon Madge MA MRCP FRCOphth
Simon is a consultant eye surgeon and director of Hereford Vision Surgical Group Ltd, with an NHS practice at Wye Valley NHS Trust in Hereford. He is a specialist in small incision cataract surgery, refractive lens exchange and oculoplastic surgery. In 2021, he opened The Wye Clinic , a multi-specialty private medical clinic, in partnership with fellow consultant, Ben While.
He studied medicine at Jesus College Cambridge, then Magdalen College Oxford, before initially training in general internal medicine. After gaining MRCP, he spent a transformational year in Australia, meeting his wife and switching to ophthalmology. After working in Bath & Nottingham, he completed his higher surgical specialist training in eyes on the peninsular rotation in Devon, under the watchful eyes of some modern-day ophthalmic greats, such as Peter Simcock and Tony Quinn. After two Fellowships in oculoplastic surgery, he was appointed to Hereford as a consultant ophthalmologist in 2009, where he has been clinical lead for ophthalmology and remains director of Hereford’s international clinical fellowship programme.
He is the author of two successful ophthalmic textbooks and over 60 peer-reviewed scientific papers and is regularly invited to lecture on a wide variety of clinical and non-clinical subjects; 2021 brought with it invitations to lecture to industry, the Royal College of Ophthalmologists (on private practice) and the Professional Negligence Bar Association; in 2022, it was the British Oculoplastic Surgery Society and the British Refractive Surgery Society.
Distinctions over the years include: a double First Class degree and two scholarships at Cambridge; Full Blues in Cross Country running (sadly only for Oxford) & England junior international; the Patrick Mallam memorial prize in Clinical Medicine at Oxford, 1997; the Elizabeth Hunt medal for the FRCOphth Part II Exam, 2004; the Pfizer ophthalmic Fellowship award, 2007; and six consecutive years of nominations for the West Midlands ‘Star Trainer’ award in ophthalmic surgery, 2014-2019. His research has won prizes at the annual meetings of the British Oculoplastic Surgical Society, the United Kingdom & Ireland Cataract and Refractive Surgery Society, the Royal College of Ophthalmologists and the Royal College of Surgeons National Research Collaborative Meeting.
He is married with three daughters and consequently is highly unlikely ever to be able to retire. To relax, he enjoys walking and cycling in the beautiful Herefordshire countryside.
Why am I doing this?
Firstly, altruism. I feel saddened when I hear of my peers around the country - particularly the gifted clinicians - failing to understand the business of private medicine, throwing good money after bad and not grasping the importance of a little investment initially to set up their businesses in a sensible way, and then to grow their businesses.
Secondly, we are stronger together. This is certainly true at a local level, where working together legally in joint undertakings (e.g. LLPs or companies)
can provide huge benefits. While companies and hospitals offering managed care pathways for patients may conceivably offer some benefits for some, working for yourselves – rather than AN Other organisation – will ultimately help you grow your own brand. This will help you maintain control of your fees, a key aspect of being a professional in the eyes of many. Collectively, we all stand to benefit, allowing each of us to manage our practices as we see fit, not on the whim of others.
Thirdly, I am passionate about challenging dogma and effecting change. For example, over the last 15 years as a consultant ophthalmologist, I have: lectured on private practice to many audiences; have teamed up with clinical negligence counsel to challenge the UK status quo on cataract consent; have introduced the concept of ophthalmic M&M meetings to the NHS (fortunately no deaths to date!); have introduced a number of new procedures & technologies locally; and all while doing the day job and simultaneously holding our Trust senior executives to account as Chair of our local MSC / HMC. As wartime hero, Harry Day GC, was reputed to have said, “rules are for the guidance of wise men and the obedience of fools…” In essence, learn from the existing establishment, but don’t be bound by them. Opening The Wye Clinic
in 2021 and gaining CQC recognition was a monumental moment for our team.
Doing things differently excites me, particularly if there is a clear transformational benefit for the majority. If the whole of private medicine grows as a result – particularly medicine of a high quality – then everyone’s business grows.
For those of you who would like a more formal partnership with me going forwards, please do not hesitate to get in touch. Over the years, I have provided a huge amount of advice to colleagues starting out and looking to grow their businesses, including those who wish to build their own facility.