I am a consultant neurosurgeon at Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham having been profiled in The Lancet Neurology and The Sunday Post during neurosurgical training at the Institute of Neurological Sciences and an Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer at the University of Glasgow. I have expertise in brain and spinal tumours, degenerative cervical and lumbar spine conditions, Chiari malformations, CSF and hydrodynamic issues, traumatic brain and spinal injuries and general neurosurgical issues. 

I am privileged to have received exacting training at the Institute of Neurological Sciences (INS) in Glasgow. I learned from every consultant but those I spent more time receiving surgical tutelage from included Miss Brown and Mr. St. George (NB: Miss Brown supervised me clipping my first aneurysm). I was appointed as a substantive consultant in Nottingham in August 2024 and it is a delight to work amongst some truly fantastic neurosurgeons and specialist nursing colleagues.  

I made a decision to pursue neurosurgery when I was nine years old. I read Gifted Hands by Ben Carson and this made a monumental impact on me especially as I do not come from a typical medical background, e.g. average state school and parents making ends meat. It has been extremely tough to overcome economic and educational hurdles a lot of doctors do not have but I am motivated to deliver as best patient care as possible. Patients keep me going.

I completed an RCSeng senior clinical fellowship in neuro oncology (scroll to the bottom) in Nottingham having obtained my Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT) at the Institute of Neurological Sciences in May 2024 following an OOPR clinical research fellowship at the School of Cancer Sciences in Glasgow under Professor Anthony Chalmers alongside being a Tessa Jowell Brain MATRIX NIHR associate PI (Glasgow) and a former RCSeng associate surgical specialty lead in neurosurgery (amongst other managerial and leadership roles including being trainee representative for MSN Neurosurgery).

Previously I ranked 4th in Scotland for core surgical selection and 1st in Oxford for academic general surgical selection being a former president of the Royal Free & University College Medical Students’ Union and editor of the historic The Bell Magazine. I remain a Course Director and Faculty Tutor in Critical Care at RCSeng and was appointed as an FRCS (Neuro.Surg) Section I question writer. My interest in medical education comes from a desire to help juniors discover their talents which improves patient care (as others helped me).

Of note is that I revised and published the 2nd and 3rd Edition of Surgical Critical Care For the MRCS OSCE alongside publishing numerous times in RCSEd Surgeons News. Overall I have been a Co-Principal Investigator on 5 published BNTRC prospective cohort studies and multiple COVIDSurg studies and supervised over 30 medical students and junior doctors during neurosurgical training. I have over 68 publications and 40 presentations and deliver teaching at RCSeng and RCPE (amongst other notable institutions of learning).

Clinically I completed 1600 operative cases during ST1-ST8 and re-validated ATLS to ensure I remain aware of Level 1 trauma care initiatives alongside numerous neurosurgical courses. Neurosurgery, is a tough job and requires total commitment and a dedication that can permeate every facet of ones existence. Why? This is not rocket science but your brain and spinal cord and it demands such investment. As an old joke goes "what is the definition of a brain biopsy?", "two anxious brains at opposite ends of the same needle".