Beloved longest serving consultant retires from South Warwickshire NHS Trust

Mr Stephen Young, who has performed an estimated 15,000 joint replacements since 1989, will retire this August after a career dedicated to pioneering orthopaedic care.

Mr Stephen Young, South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust’s (SWFT) longest-serving Orthopaedic Consultant, is set to retire this August following a 36-year career with the Trust.

Since starting in 1989, Mr Young is estimated to have performed 15,000 joint replacements. In the past three years alone, despite turning 70, he carried out nearly 1,000 hip replacements.

Although he stepped down prior to the COVID-19 pandemic in preparation for retirement, he returned to support the Trust’s elective recovery efforts, including work in the mobile Vanguard theatre that was brought in to increase surgical capacity.

Mr Young played a central role in developing the Trust’s Orthopaedic Unit and establishing the South Warwickshire Accelerated Transfer Team (SWATT), a service overseeing the full patient journey from being added to the surgical waiting list to recovery at home. SWATT has contributed to the Trust’s reputation as one of the most efficient orthopaedic services in the country, maintaining a top-five position for length of stay for many years.

Tamara Harries, General Manager for Orthopaedics at SWFT, said:

“Mr. Young is known as an eminent Orthopaedic Surgeon whose exceptional career has spanned decades here at the Trust, giving clinical leadership, pioneering surgical work and compassionate patient care. His vision, skill and dedication have benefitted thousands of patients, many of whom owe their mobility and quality of life to his expert hands. His retirement is a huge moment for the department, and we will miss him both personally and professionally.”

Mr Young has also led the Trust’s orthopaedic fellowship programme for over a decade, mentoring many future hip consultants. He has been a member of the DePuy (Johnson & Johnson) UK Faculty and regularly presented nationally and internationally on hip replacements.

The SKY Walk, a bi-annual event named in his honour, invites former patients to walk with the Orthopaedic team while raising funds for the department.

Glen Burley, Foundation Group Chief Executive, said:

"Mr. Young has been an ever-present and hugely respected Consultant during my time here and long before. Thousands of patients have benefited from his skills, as have many staff and trainees. We will all miss his leadership and his calm, caring and efficient approach. He has played a very big part in helping to develop our local Orthopaedic service as a national exemplar."

Mr Young’s retirement marks the end of an extraordinary career defined by surgical excellence, compassionate care, and long-standing service to the people of South Warwickshire.