Biography
Dr Hepburn qualified at The London Hospital Medical College (University of London) in 1993. Prior to this he undertook an intercalated degree in Pharmacology with Basic Medical Sciences. He trained in General (Internal) Medicine and Rheumatology on the North West Thames training programme in London.
Following a consultant post at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital in Stanmore he was appointed Consultant Rheumatologist in Worthing in 2007. Until 2019 he also practiced Acute Medicine at Worthing Hospital, where he is the lead for Clinical Audit in the Division of Medicine. He has previously sat on the Drug & Therapeutics and Local Referral & Guidelines Committees and authored numerous protocols and local guidelines for the management of osteoporosis and vitamin D deficiency, and various chronic rheumatic diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, gout and giant cell arteritis.
His laboratory research into systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) was carried out at the Hammersmith Hospital, part of Imperial College London. Dr Hepburn has a particular interest in the management of SLE and related autoimmune connective tissue diseases such as scleroderma and Sjogren’s syndrome, as well as other complex inflammatory multisystem disorders such as vasculitis, sarcoidosis and Behcet’s syndrome, in addition to heritable disorders of collagen such as Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. He also has an interest in crystal arthropathies and has also undertaken clinical research in the management of gout and he is a medical Trustee of the UK Gout Society charity.
He has an interest in the use of biologic drugs in inflammatory arthritis, vasculitis and connective tissue disease, and has run specialist biologics clinics, as well as actively participating in clinical trials of biologic drugs in rheumatoid arthritis and axial spondyloarthropathy. He undertakes multidisciplinary team meetings (MDT) and clinics, including combined ophthalmology and combined dermatology clinics for patients with inflammatory eye disorders and connective tissue diseases respectively, along with regular radiology and respiratory MDT meetings. He also assists in the supervision of the nurse-led Osteoporosis service, including the prescription of parenteral drug therapies, and DEXA scan reporting. He also liaises closely with the physiotherapist-led Spinal Triage service.
Dr Hepburn is actively involved in undergraduate teaching for students from BSMS medical school, in addition to postgraduate teaching, both for doctors and allied health professionals such as physiotherapists and nurse specialists. The latter has included supervising non-medical prescribing qualifications. He is also on a national telephone advice line rota for GPs.
In addition to several nominations, Dr Hepburn has previously received prizes and patient care awards from the Arthritis Research (UK) and National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society (NRAS) charities and the Royal Society of Medicine, and has received local Clinical Excellence Awards. He has published several clinical and basic science research papers and numerous case reports, and has also contributed to book chapters.