Derek McMinn FRCS Mr Derek McMinn qualified from St Thomas's Hospital in London. Practising as a Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon since 1988, his special interest has been joint reconstruction surgery.

He always loved taking on the challenge of patients with complex hip and knee problems - complexities that often demanded improvisation and innovation. The stemmed reconstruction acetabular cup for the grossly deficient socket is one of his innovations.

His pioneering of the Birmingham Hip Resurfacing has revolutionized the management of hip arthritis in young active patients. In addition to his busy Private Practice, he works part-time in the UK National Health Service at the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital, Birmingham.

In the midst of his busy schedule treating patients and training surgeons from around the world, he finds time to continue to lead a team of engineers and researchers to press on with further innovation and development.

The Birmingham Nuffield Hospital is the longest established private hospital in Birmingham with an Outpatient satellite facility in Sutton Coldfield.

The hospital deals with most acute medical & surgical cases and in 2003 completed a major Capital development Scheme. The scheme has completely refurbished the hospital offering patients 52 en-suite rooms with 2 critical care beds (level 1). In addition to modernised clinical facilities including a purpose built Endoscopy suite, five bedded recovery area and new outpatient consulting and treatment rooms.

Adjacent to the hospital is a dedicated Health, Hydro & Therapy Suite incorporating Physiotherapy, Hydrotherapy, Chiropody, Health Screening and a fitness gym.

A city that oozes style, culture and charm - welcomes visitors with more pride than ever before. Vibrant and cosmopolitan you will discover everything you want in a city: scintillating shopping, the £500 million Bullring development and iconic Selfridges building has confirmed Birmingham's reputation as the regional shopping capital. A World class culture, staging more national and international sporting championships, the UK's finest concert venue- Symphony Hall and the most popular exhibition centre in Europe -The NEC.

• The population of Birmingham is nearly 1 million people; 6 million people live within 50 miles of the city
• 21.5% of the population of Birmingham are classified as ethnic minorities
• The people of Birmingham are known as Brummies
• The city puts on the third largest St Patrick's day parade in the world, next to Dublin and New York
• 80% of the land area in the West Midlands is classed as rural
• There are suburbs in Birmingham called California, Hollywood and Broadway
• Birmingham has the UK's largest National Sealife Centre which incorporates the world's only 360 degree transparent tunnel so you can stand suspended in mid-ocean
• Birmingham is home to the Balti, a spicy, aromatic Kashmiri dish, with over 100 Balti houses attracting over 20,000 visitors per week