Dr Christopher Knechtli

I underwent general training in clinical & laboratory haematology in the West Midlands and the Bristol/Bath area. In the middle of this training, I spent a 3 year period as a Research Fellow developing the use of the polymerase chain reaction to amplify immunoglobulin and T cell receptor genes as a means of assessing minimal residual disease in the bone marrow of children with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia before and after allogeneic stem cell transplantation. I was awarded the British Society for Haematology Young Investigator of the Year Award in 1996.

I spend much of my time focussing on treating patients with various forms of haematological cancer (i.e. acute leukaemia, Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphoma, chronic lymphocytic leukaemia and chronic myeloid leukaemia) but I also have a large practice seeing and advising patients on other general haematological conditions (including anaemia, low platelet counts, myeloproliferative disorders and myelodysplasia as well as common problems relating to thrombosius and anticoagulation).

Since my appointment as a Consultant Haematologist in Bath in January 2000, I was appointed as Clinical Director for Oncology & Haematology at the Royal United Hospital, a post that I held for 10 years until October 2010.

I set up the Oncology & Haematology Clinical Governance Committee in March 2001 and led the group until November 2013 when I was appointed Clinical Governance Lead for the Division of Medicine. I resigned from this role in November 2018. However, as the Lead Medical Examiner in Bath, I now have responsibility for maintaining effective review of patients who have died at the RUH in order to support the relatives of the deceased and to identify and disseminate any learning that may have arisen from the care that they were provided with.

I was elected Chairman of the Avon, Somerset & Wiltshire Cancer Services Haematology Site Specialist Group from December 2001 to July 2006.

I was a regular member of the South West Regional Cancer Drug Fund Panel from its inception in January 2011 to May 2013.

I am a member of the Panel of Examiners for the Royal College of Pathologists which is responsible for ensuring that trainees in haematology meet the minimum standards to act as a Consultant. I have co-hoster the part 2 exam with a colleague in Bristol since 2014.

• Diagnostic bone marrow aspirate and trephine biopsy (W3650)
• Overseeing chemotherapy for malignant haematological conditions (e.g. X0003 and X0004)
• Therapeutic venesection (X3570)

• Haematological Oncology (e.g. leukaemia, lymphoma)
• Myeloproliferative disorders (e.g. polycythaemia, myelofibrosis, essential thrombocythaemia)
• Myelodysplasia
• Abnormal red cells: too few (anaemia) or too many (polycythaemia)
• Abnormal white cells: too few (leucopenia) or too many (leucocytosis)
• Abnormal platelets: too few (thrombocytopenia) or too many (thrombocytosis)
• Thrombosis & anticoagulation
• Pre-operative haemoglobin optimisation