Dr Ernest Wong

I joined Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust as a Consultant Rheumatologist in August 2009 having trained in the Rheumatology Centres of Excellence in Norwich, Bath and Oxford. I am passionate about delivering a high level of patient centred care and promoting patient safety. And was Patient Safety and Leadership Fellow for the South of England Strategic Health Authority between 2011-2013.

I successfully piloted the Immunosuppressant Monitoring Patient Safety Project within the Rheumatology department at Queen Alexandra Hospital, Portsmouth. The piloted results were presented at the National Patient Safety Conference and shared internationally at the Institute of Healthcare Improvement conference in Orlando December 2011, on behalf of South Central SHA. This monitoring system is now being used by Rheumatology, Respiratory, Gastroenterology, Dermatology, Neurology and Ophthalmology departments at the Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust.

I am a strong advocate for the use of ultrasound in Rheumatology, and co-founded the South Central Rheumatology Ultrasound(US) network in 2010. I have been the chair for this popular quarterly US peer review network since 2011 and am also a visiting ultrasound tutor nationally. I am a committee member of British Society for Rheumatology Ultrasound SIG group, planning for US training courses. I have chaired and hosted both regional and national Advanced Ultrasound in Inflammatory Arthritis Clinical Perceptorships with international Rheumatology sonography experts. I am also a Rheumatology specialty tutor and education supervisor for Rheumatology registrars. With a passion for helping trainees to fulfil their untapped potential.

I am a strong believer that better clinical outcomes can be achieved when clinical research is delivered side by side routine patient care. I have been UK chief investigator for five clinical trials and principal investigator for 12 more. I am also sub-PI for several other trials supporting colleagues in the department. As rheumatology research lead, I have consistently delivered improved care offering extra treatment options beyond NHS for patients under my department care. I am recognised as a top recruiter nationally and internationally for over 80% of my clinical trials conducted. My main research interests are Rheumatoid arthritis, Psoriatic arthritis, Ankylosing Spondylitis, Giant cell arteritis, vasculitis, PMR, Gout, Lupus and Rheumatology ultrasound. I have peer reviewed many national and international journals.

In November 2016, my department at Queen Alexandra Hospital received the National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society Healthcare Champion Award from the Prime Minister, Theresa May in Westminster for the unprecedented second time. We are really proud and honoured to have received continuous recognition for our patient centred care.

In 2024, I started my three year tenure in the British Society for Rheumatology Biologic register committee (member), helping to promote the use of biologics and sharing real world biologics safety and efficacy data among Rheumatologists.