Historic appointment for the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital

Rachael Hutchinson is making history at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital by becoming the first female orthopaedic surgeon to take up a consultant post.

A former pupil of Sprowston High School, Rachael, 37, will be specialising in children’s surgery and in foot and ankle cases. Her appointment is the culmination of many years of specialist training, beginning in Leeds and culminating in Sheffield, where she worked at the city’s Children’s Hospital.

Her husband Stephen has also made the move from Sheffield – along with their children, Lucy, 3, and Charlie, 4 months – to take up a post as consultant anaesthetist at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital.

Miss Hutchinson will also be working one day a week at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital King’s Lynn as part of a strategy to provide a more specialised service for children with complex orthopaedic needs. Having worked for a year in Melbourne with cerebral palsy patients as part of her training, she is also keen to continue her interest in this field.

She commented: “I was thrilled to join the team in Norwich – the orthopaedic department has a growing national reputation and it’s exciting to be part of a new teaching hospital that offers so much in terms of innovation and research.”

Rachael played viola in the Norfolk Youth Orchestras and she is also an accomplished pianist.