Dr Neil Shah

we also have 4 children under dr neil shah. he has cared for our children now for 11 years and we will be eternally grateful for his suport and interest in our family. our children have acute allergic colitis and our eldest son was so badly effected by the age of 2 was on tpn. however once dr shah under the direction of prophesor milla took his case on things changed dramaticaly. the son we thought we were going to loose began to improve and is still here today to tell the story. though still fed via a gasterostomay he is doing well as are his younger 3 sisters who also have inherited this genetic illness. i too would strongly recommend this doctor.

Dr Shah is a fantastic Consultant. He really knows his stuff and is a leading expert in his field (gastroenterology). His bedside manner is second to none, and the rapor he builds with his patients, and their families is amazing!

I would definitely recommend him if you need help in that field!

I also have 3 kids under Dr Shah & after seeing 4 other Paed Gastros i can confirm he appears to be the only one who knows what he is talking about.  Just today my eldest went to another consultant who even with all the evidence we have still will not believe that their condition could possibly be eosinophilic colitis......there must be so many families out there suffering due to ignorant Dr's!!!

Do u mind saying which other gastro paeds you,ve seen, so we know who to avoid?

Hi

It's hard to say which ones to avoid as some are better with some illnesses than other illnesses and so it depends what condition your child has and which region you live in? I would say that if you try a local paediatrician and feel they aren't helping or listening to you then ask for a second opinion. If your child has a rare condition then best ask for a specialist centre like Great Ormond Street (on their site they list their consultants and what their specialities are). If you go privately then there are a few gastro paediatricians recommended on here that you could try? Sorry if this doesn't help much.

 Hi, 

We are in Buckinghamshire, and our local paed has suggested Dr shah from GOSH, dr Elawod from GOSH or Dr Fell from Chelsea and westminster.  My husband works just round the corner from Chelsea and Westminster so for us that is the obvious choice but if Dr Shah is so good then I would obviously chose him on recommedation.  have you been treated or know of anyone been treated by dr Fell?

Thank you

Hayley

Hi Hayley

We are with Dr Shah and I do highly recommend him. We saw so many consultants before him and he was the only one who came up with the correct diagnosis.I also know of a family who are with Dr Elawad and they say he is good too. I've never heard of the other doctor, sorry.

What condition does your son / daughter have?

Don't know Dr Fell.  Dr Shah is fab but extremely busy and doing lots of research.  Dr Elewad is also very good and he is the clinical lead of the Gastro team at GOSH.  We see Dr Shah but Dr Elewad has done scopes for my son and I would be happy for him to be seen by either of them.

Hi I dont know Dr fell personally but know of families with him and have read many papers wrote by dr fell. He has a excellant reputation and the families I know rate him very highly.

We are with DR Elawad at gosh and have been with him nearly 10 yrs excellant consultant, we've also had Dr shah when he was a jnr he also is good, DR Hill at gosh is also a good gastro DR.

all the best,

Michelle

And he is amazing. Our daughter Ruby has been ill since birth with inflamed bowel and allergic colitis (now rising two) and although our regional specialist was decent, he was out of his depth and Rubes doesn't respond well or for very long to any treatment given. He's just incredibly responsive, both in clinic and on the phone/by email which is v unusual and so much appreciated. His PA is also a love and anyone whose got a kid in and out of clinics and back and forth for different procedures will know the horror of getting 'bounced' by the PA when you're trying to contact your specialist or get into clinic or discuss test results or chase a prescription or any of the masses of things you need to organise with the specialist's PA.

I have seen some people worried about the money. It's costing us £260 for first consult and £200 for each ensuing. Standard is 30 mins but you do get longer. Don't even think about it - if your child's health is sufficiently poor that your regional hospital can't help you any more and you simply can't wait for an NHS referral to him (he does consult on the NHS), then just get on with it. We've got a little bit of health cover for outpatients (which we've used up about half way through both years so far) and the rest we just find. It's hard, but if your concern is 'will it be worth it?' 'can he help?' then you should just go and see him.

Wonderful, clever, gentle brilliant doctor.

I see Dr Shah with my daughter and have done for quite a few years, she is seven.

I have worked in the paediatric field myself and haved worked alongside many excellent and the not such good doctors, seeing both the professional side and behind the scenes.

Dr Shah impresses from the moment he takes on a case.

He is so personable and also busy but so fantastic with the kids and parents alike, he puts me at instant ease and explains all with such a vast knowledge. He diagnosed my daughter swifly after nhs referral and i am eternally grateful we see him under the nhs as finances are tight.

My daughter is excited at her visits to hospital not fearful. she also trusts him very well. the outpatients trips are a full day with travel etc and the time with dr shah is swift but 100% worth it. its worth jotting down notes as all the info he gives, flows so logically and fast, but it is hard to recall all of it  to others afterwards!!

After an inpatient trip on one occasion, dr shah telephoned me personally at 7.30 one morning, as her blood results showed a needed change in diet. Never had i expected this dedication to a patient beforehand.

Life is difficult with and for my daughter as she has many probs, many little but as a bigger picture it is hard for family life and a normality but i often wonder had it not been for Dr Shah what she may have been like now. We see the local paeds as well and have had numerous local admissions etc but NEVER anywhere near what GOSH and Dr Shah gives us in knowledge, friendliness, confidence and a holistic package of care. .

I completely agree with this post. He's amazingly attentive and responsive and really seems to understand the struggles you go through. On our first visit there, he discussed with us 'the burden of disease' and it made me feel so relieved to have someone understand that the disease is burden that the three of us carry - my husband and I and our daughter. It's not us carrying her. Didn't even understand that I felt this way myself until he started talking about it. Wonderful man. Aren't we lucky lucky to have him?

Cath - little one born 2009 has inflamatory bowel and colitis...

 Our daughter is having alot of problems with bad reflux and told aout Dr Shah, We are will to go privet can any offer advice how we can do this many thanks

Hiya

We got a private appointment by asking our paediatrician at the local hospital to refer us for a second opinion - she happened to refer us to Dr Shah but I'm sure you can request it? When she agreed to write the letter, we then phoned his private secretary at Great Ormond Street to get an appointment and I think we only waited about 2 weeks. Our paediatrician then sent the referral letter over to GOSH.

I'm not sure if the referral needs to be from a paediatrician or if it can be from a GP.

 I hope this helps. Thanks, Kx

Hi

I think it does need to be from a consultant. As far as I know you don't go directly from GP to GOSH - it's GP - regional hospital - GOSH.

In case you aren't insured and are going to meet the costs for initial consult yourself, it's about £300 odd quid for first consult and then £200 for subsequent 30 minute appts. At GOSH you have to pay by credit card before you get onto the wing and then claim back from insurer afterwards - they won't reclaim (but that may be different if you're BUPA).

Very good approach in general to get seen by paying for it, and then a private consultant will usually pop you onto their NHS list for expensive procedures. You'll wait longer for those procedures than if you could go all out private, but at least you'll know what you're going to do, and you'll have the considerable benefit of Dr Shah's pharmeceutical expertise.

Prescriptions he requests are filled by your GP so you don't have to pay out on those...

Any other queries, do ask. Been managing the private/NHS crossovers for years. Tis a fine art.

Cath

Cath - little one born 2009 has inflamatory bowel and colitis...