Dr Alistair Purves

Dr Alistair Purves’s basic medical training was at the Cambridge Hospitals and specialised training in Neurophysiology at the National Hospital, Queen Square and Great Ormond Street Hospital.

He has been a consultant at Kings College Hospital since 1996, and has been the Clinical Lead in Neurophysiology since 2013. His main clinical role at Kings is the provision and leadership of a high quality EMG service to Kings and the regional hospitals. This is especially important as Kings hosts regional centres for motor neuron disease, peripheral nerve disorders and neuromuscular junction diseases. The centre has a particular interest in disorders of the small nerve fibre population e.g. painful burning feet and is the only centre offering advanced techniques such as microneurography. His own interest is the complex area of limb pain syndromes.

Consultants have a major role in teaching undergraduates, their own trainees, and also teaching the specialties that refer to them how EMG and nerve conduction studies are properly used to solve clinical problems.

Dr Purves has become particularly interested in spreading the use of the diagnostic techniques directly into primary care.

 

Professional Memberships

• British Society for Clinical Neurophysiology
• British Peripheral Nerve Society Honorary Secretary, Clinical Neurosciences section
• Royal Society of Medicine
• Medical Society of London International
• Society for the Study of Pain

Clinical Interests

• Disorders of the small nerve fibre population e.g. painful burning feet and neuromuscular junction diseases
• Microneurography
• Limb pain syndromes