Dr. Ajay Menon
Senior Consultant & HOD - Neonatal & Pediatric Clinician
OP Timing:
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
| 10:00am - 01:00pm | 10:00am - 01:00pm | 10:00am - 01:00pm | 10:00am - 01:00pm | 10:00am - 01:00pm | 10:00am - 01:00pm | Not Available |
Profile Overview:
Dr Ajay is a Senior Consultant Neonatologist and Pediatrician with extensive clinical leadership experience across premier UK NHS teaching hospitals and advanced tertiary care centres in India. Proven expertise in establishing, commissioning, and directing high-volume Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs), managing complex extreme-prematurity services, and launching accredited academic fellowship programs. Demonstrated track record in building sustainable regional outborn referral networks, enforcing clinical governance protocols, reducing hospital-acquired infection rates, and integrating advanced evidence-based modalities including high-frequency oscillatory ventilation, bedside functional echocardiography, and whole-body therapeutic hypothermia.
Registration Number: TCMC-23730
Core Clinical & Leadership Competencies:
Advanced Neonatal Ventilation: High-Frequency Oscillatory Ventilation (HFOV), Volume-Targeted Ventilation, Non-Invasive Ventilation (CPAP, BiPAP, High-Flow Nasal Cannula), and Inhaled Nitric Oxide protocols.
Critical Care Procedures: Endotracheal intubation, surfactant replacement therapy, umbilical venous/arterial catheterisation (UVC/UAC), peripheral arterial line placement, and percutaneous central venous access (PICC).
Acute Interventions & Neuro-Protection: Whole-body therapeutic cooling for neonatal encephalopathy, double-volume exchange transfusion, peritoneal dialysis, intercostal chest tube insertion, pleural tap, lumbar puncture, and bone marrow aspiration.
Bedside Functional Diagnostics: Point-of-Care functional neonatal echocardiography, hemodynamic monitoring, and cranial ultrasonography.
Academic Program Directorship: Curriculum design, clinical teaching, and accreditation leadership for medical and nursing neonatal fellowship programs.
Pediatric Intensive & Outpatient Care: Complex pediatric resuscitations, chronic childhood disease management, high-risk neurodevelopmental follow-up, and preventative immunisation pathways.
Professional Experience:
- Directs overall clinical, operational, and administrative workflows of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.
- Leads perinatal-obstetric collaborative planning for extreme premature deliveries, fetal anomalies, and high-risk maternal deliveries.
- Oversees medical staffing, duty rotas, quality audits, standard operating procedures (SOPs), and departmental infection prevention strategies.
- Commanded a 15-bedded Level III NICU managing 75–100 in-house newborn deliveries and admissions per month.
- Established and sustained an active peripheral referral pipeline, managing 3–5 emergency transfers of critically ill outborn neonates per month from surrounding hospitals in Thrissur district.
- Managed extremely low birth weight (ELBW) infants, complex neonatal surgical cases, and acute pediatric emergency admissions.
- Instituted central line insertion and maintenance care bundles, sustaining minimal catheter-associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI) benchmarks.
Consultant Neonatologist & Unit Co-Founder | Moulana Hospital, Perinthalmanna, Kerala September 2013 – July 2016
- Key clinician in the initial planning, equipping, commissioning, and clinical operation of the Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.
- Academic Fellowship Directorship: Spearheaded institutional accreditation through the National Neonatology Forum (NNF), India, successfully launching and directing structured Neonatal Fellowship Programmes for both post-graduate doctors (MD/DNB) and specialized neonatal nursing staff.
- Standardized formal fellowship curricula, bedside procedural skill assessments, mortality/morbidity review mechanisms, and trainee appraisals.
- Implemented modern invasive and non-invasive ventilation strategies and initiated the therapeutic hypothermia service for hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy.
- Established a neonatal emergency transport service, training transport nurse clinicians and resident medical officers.
Junior Consultant / Medical Officer (Pediatrics) | Holy Family Hospital 2001 – 2003
- Supervised pediatric ward admissions, emergency room resuscitations, and special care nursery units.
Tutor / Clinical Resident in Pediatrics | PSG Institute of Medical Sciences & Research (PSGIMSR), Coimbatore 1999 – 2000
- Directed bedside clinical instruction for undergraduate medical students and managed inpatient pediatric emergencies.
Clinical Training & Specialist Appointments (United Kingdom)
UK National Training Number: YHD/002/713/C
- Specialty Doctor in Pediatrics & Neonatology | Doncaster Royal Infirmary, NHS Foundation Trust (Feb 2011 onwards)
- Pediatric Oncology Registrar | Sheffield Children’s Hospital, Western Bank, Sheffield (2011)
- Community Pediatrics Registrar | North Lincolnshire Primary Care Trust (Cliff Gardens, Scunthorpe)
- ST5 Neonatal Registrar | Jessop Wing, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- ST4 Pediatric Registrar | Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
- Clinical Fellow (Middle Grade) in Pediatrics | Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust, Kent (2008 – 2009)
- LAS Middle Grade Registrar | Medway Maritime Hospital, Kent
- Honorary Clinical Research Fellow | Leicester Primary Care Trust
- Senior House Officer (Pediatrics & Neonatology) | Yeovil District Hospital NHS Trust (2005 – 2006)
- Senior House Officer (Pediatrics) | Southmead Hospital, North Bristol NHS Trust (2004 – 2005)
- Registrar in Ambulatory Pediatrics | Hammersmith Hospital, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, London (2004)
- Clinical Observer in Pediatrics | Leicester Royal Infirmary, University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust (2004)
Education & Professional Credentials:
- MRCPCH (UK) – Royal College of Pediatrics and Child Health, United Kingdom
- Diploma in Child Health (DCH) – Government Medical College, Calicut, University of Calicut
- Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) – Government Medical College, Trivandrum, University of Kerala
Clinical Governance, Audit & Digital Health Contributions:
- National Accreditation & Inspection Leadership: Led institutional accreditation processes under the National Neonatology Forum (NNF), ensuring full compliance with clinical protocols, staffing-to-bed ratios, equipment maintenance, and academic logbooks.
- Workforce & Departmental Administration: Managed middle-grade and junior resident rotas, developed standardized clinical handover frameworks, and authored departmental induction portfolios.
- Quality Assurance Audits: Chaired departmental mortality, morbidity, and clinical adverse incident reviews, benchmarking neonatal survival against national and international registries.
- Digital Health Innovation: Conceptualized and built the "Acute Breathing Difficulties" digital platform, compiling evidence-based clinical management guidelines and instructional videos for pediatric respiratory emergencies.
Publications & Scientific Presentations:
- Journal Publication: Vijayalakshmi AM, Menon A. Apert Syndrome. Indian Pediatrics, 2002 Sep; 39(9): 876–878.
- International Academic Presentation: Blood Culture Positive Multi-Resistant Sepsis in NICU. Regional Neonatal Academic Meeting, Sheffield, United Kingdom (2012).
- National Academic Presentation: Evaluation of the WINROP Algorithm for Early Detection of Retinopathy of Prematurity in an Indian Setting. National Conference of the Indian Academy of Pediatrics Neonatology Chapter (IAP NEOCON).
- Advanced Pediatric Life Support (APLS) – Certified Provider
- Newborn Life Support (NLS) – Certified Provider
- Point-of-Care Cranial Ultrasound in Neonates – Hands-on Certification Course
- Neonatal Hemodynamics & Functional Echocardiography Workshop – Pune
- Therapeutic Hypothermia & Perinatal Asphyxia Workshop – Manjeri / Perinthalmanna
- TIPS (Training and Improvement Programme System) – Quality & Clinical Effectiveness Certification
- Good Clinical Practice (GCP) & Research Methodology Course
- UK Medical Education (Lincoln, UK): Delivered dedicated clinical teaching, bedside tutorials, and practical training for medical students and foundation doctors in Lincoln, UK.
- Curriculum & Trainee Development: Actively structured departmental training curricula, supervised trainee clinical rotas, and designed comprehensive clinical induction packages for junior doctors.
- Academic Pedagogy: Completed formal coursework in Teaching, Learning, and Evaluation methodologies, with early career academic experience as a clinical tutor at the PSG Institute of Medical Sciences and Research.
- Clinical Governance: Regularly leads morbidity and mortality reviews, journal clubs, and departmental clinical audits to support evidence-based paediatric and neonatal practice
- Clinical Research Fellow (University of Leicester, UK): Served as a Clinical Research Fellow with the University of Leicester, focusing on academic clinical research, health studies, and clinical evaluation.
- Peer-Reviewed Publications & Presentations: Co-authored clinical papers and scientific presentations, including work on Apert syndrome in Indian Pediatrics, multiresistant bacterial sepsis forums in the UK (Sheffield), and studies evaluating the WINROP algorithm for early detection of Retinopathy of Prematurity.
- Evidence-Based Guidelines: Developed digital clinical algorithms and instructional resources covering acute pediatric respiratory emergencies to facilitate point-of-care decision-making and clinician education.
- Tertiary Neonatal Intensive Care: Comprehensive management of extreme prematurity and critical neonatal conditions, including high-frequency oscillatory ventilation (HFOV), volume-targeted ventilation, non-invasive support, and therapeutic hypothermia for neonatal asphyxia.
- Specialised Bedside Interventions: Extensive proficiency in umbilical and central venous/arterial line placements, chest drain insertions, exchange transfusions, and acute pediatric emergency resuscitation.