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Dr Mark Hitchcock

Pain Management Consultant

Dr Hitchcock undertook his basic medical training at St Bartholomew’s Hospital London, and graduated in1986 having already completed a BSc in Psychology at University College London in 1982. He then undertook specialist training in Anaesthesia and Pain Management, becoming a Fellow of the Royal College of Anaesthetists in 1992.

Dr Hitchcock was initially appointed as the Director of Day Surgery and Consultant Anaesthetist at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge, and co-authored a medical textbook entitled ‘Anaesthesia and Analgesia for Day Surgery’ in 1997. Dr Hitchcock has lectured extensively at International meetings throughout the world, and edited the official journal of the British Association of Day Surgery (BADS) for several years.

In 2001 Dr Hitchcock was appointed as a Consultant Anaesthetist with a special interest in Pain Management at Dorset County Hospital, Dorchester, where he ran the NHS Chronic Pain Service until it moved out into the community in 2013. Dr Hitchcock has consulted privately in all aspects of Pain Management for over 20 years, with clinics at the BMI Winterbourne Hospital in Dorchester. In 2007 Dr Hitchcock was made a Fellow of the Faculty of Pain Management at the Royal college of Anaesthetists.

Dr Mark Hitchcock

Pain Management Consultant

Dr Hitchcock undertook his basic medical training at St Bartholomew’s Hospital London, and graduated in1986 having already completed a BSc in Psychology at University College London in 1982. He then undertook specialist training in Anaesthesia and Pain Management, becoming a Fellow of the Royal College of Anaesthetists in 1992.

Dr Hitchcock was initially appointed as the Director of Day Surgery and Consultant Anaesthetist at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge, and co-authored a medical textbook entitled ‘Anaesthesia and Analgesia for Day Surgery’ in 1997. Dr Hitchcock has lectured extensively at International meetings throughout the world, and edited the official journal of the British Association of Day Surgery (BADS) for several years.

In 2001 Dr Hitchcock was appointed as a Consultant Anaesthetist with a special interest in Pain Management at Dorset County Hospital, Dorchester, where he ran the NHS Chronic Pain Service until it moved out into the community in 2013. Dr Hitchcock has consulted privately in all aspects of Pain Management for over 20 years, with clinics at the BMI Winterbourne Hospital in Dorchester. In 2007 Dr Hitchcock was made a Fellow of the Faculty of Pain Management at the Royal college of Anaesthetists.

Dr Hitchcock has an interest in the law as it applies to medicine, and has developed an extensive medico-legal practice both in the areas of medical negligence and personal injury cases. He went on to obtain his LLM in Medical Law from the Law School of Cardiff University in 2014, and has taught aspects of the law as it applies to medicine to Wessex Anaesthetic Trainees.

In 2017 Dr Hitchcock took up the post of Senior Consultant Anaesthetist at Hamad General Hospital, Doha, in the State of Qatar. In Qatar Dr Hitchcock ran the Continuous Professional Development Programme for all anaesthetists within the State of Qatar and was instrumental in setting up several new services and clinical pathways, such as the introduction of Robotic Knee Replacement surgery and a clinical pathway for the management of patients with neck of femur fractures. Dr Hitchcock also provided anaesthetic services to members of the Emir’s family in Qatar. During his time working in Qatar, Dr Hitchcock continued to provide private pain management services at the BMI Winterbourne Hospital in Dorchester, returning to the UK regularly.

In 2020 Dr Hitchcock returned to the UK permanently, to work again at Dorset County Hospital, Dorchester, and the BMI Winterbourne Hospital. Dr Hitchcock continues to provide private pain management services and undertakes treatment for a wide variety of pain conditions, pursuing a balanced approach and using both interventional and non-interventional techniques. He works closely with both surgical colleagues and other allied health professionals, including physiotherapists and manual therapists.

Dr Hitchcock has an interest in the law as it applies to medicine, and has developed an extensive medico-legal practice both in the areas of medical negligence and personal injury cases. He went on to obtain his LLM in Medical Law from the Law School of Cardiff University in 2014, and has taught aspects of the law as it applies to medicine to Wessex Anaesthetic Trainees.

In 2017 Dr Hitchcock took up the post of Senior Consultant Anaesthetist at Hamad General Hospital, Doha, in the State of Qatar. In Qatar Dr Hitchcock ran the Continuous Professional Development Programme for all anaesthetists within the State of Qatar and was instrumental in setting up several new services and clinical pathways, such as the introduction of Robotic Knee Replacement surgery and a clinical pathway for the management of patients with neck of femur fractures. Dr Hitchcock also provided anaesthetic services to members of the Emir’s family in Qatar. During his time working in Qatar, Dr Hitchcock continued to provide private pain management services at the BMI Winterbourne Hospital in Dorchester, returning to the UK regularly.

In 2020 Dr Hitchcock returned to the UK permanently, to work again at Dorset County Hospital, Dorchester, and the BMI Winterbourne Hospital. Dr Hitchcock continues to provide private pain management services and undertakes treatment for a wide variety of pain conditions, pursuing a balanced approach and using both interventional and non-interventional techniques. He works closely with both surgical colleagues and other allied health professionals, including physiotherapists and manual therapists.

90% of Back Problems Don’t Need Surgery

Surgeons and others believe that surgery is effective for back pain. They base this belief either on their own experience or on observational studies. This belief is, by and large, not vindicated by the outcomes in well-reported clinical trials. Those trials indicate that only a small proportion of patients do well from surgery.

Special Interests

Dr Hitchcock’s special interests are low back pain, with and without sciatica, facet joint pain both in the neck and the lumbar spine, neck pain, with and without arm pain, whiplash injuries, cervicogenic headaches and the use of Botox for the treatment of migraine, the management of neuropathic pain and complex regional pain syndrome, the treatment of hip, knee and shoulder pain, coccydynia, myofascial pain, and chronic post-surgical and musculoskeletal pains.

Areas of expertise

Dr Hitchcock offers a variety of interventional procedures in the management of different pain conditions, including :

1

Cervical, thoracic, lumbar and caudal epidural injections

2

Lumbar, thoracic and cervical facet joint medial branch blocks and radiofrequency and pulsed radiofrequency treatment.

3

Denervex® treatment of facetal pain

4

Percutaneous Nucleoplasty for discogenic pain

5

Sympathectomy i.e. lumbar sympathectomy and celiac plexus blocks

6

Selective nerve root blocks and pulsed radio frequency of dorsal root ganglion in the cervical and lumbar regions

7

Sacroiliac joint injection and radiofrequency denervation

8

Peripheral nerve blocks