Out Of Programme

What happens when a 15-year-old starts a mental health blog to survive stigma, and a decade later is still running the national charity it became, while becoming the first LTFT foundation doctor in his hospital and building innovation inside Alder Hey? In this episode, we speak with Dr Shantanu Kundu , foundation doctor, Chief Executive of the Be Free Campaign, NHS Clinical Entrepreneur, and innov...

What happens when one of 15,000 applicants wins a scholarship from Kenya to UCL Medicine — then rebuilds her idea of “scale” from the GP surgery to agentic AI? In this episode, we speak with Dr Sheliza Darvesh , GP, former Babylon clinical ops lead, and co-founder & COO of Conversico, building an agentic AI operating layer for healthcare (starting with a voice receptionist) as an Antler entrep...

What happens when an "average medical student" co-founds the Topol Programme, becomes an AI professor without a PhD, and rises to run a health innovation network while still seeing patients every Friday? In this episode, we speak with Dr Hatim Abdulhussein , a GP who became CEO of Health Innovation Kent Surrey Sussex and Honorary Professor of Innovation and AI at the University of Surrey...

What happens when a surgical trainee and former parliamentary candidate pivots into pharmaceutical medicine, rises to global VP, and then walks away to found his own consultancy on his own terms? In this episode, we speak with Dr David Montgomery , a consultant in pharmaceutical medicine, former global VP at Pfizer, and co-founder of PM Life Sciences, a pharmaceutical advisory firm and consultancy...

What happens when a South African anaesthetist survives cerebral oedema on Everest, bootstraps an NHS appraisal platform with no external funding, and sells it to one of the UK's fastest-growing health tech companies? In this episode, we speak with Dr Patrick Doyle , a consultant anaesthetist who founded L2P — the leading platform for job planning, appraisals and revalidation — which was acqui...

What happens when a South African surgeon gets plucked out by Lord Darzi, builds the first machine-readable BNF, and spins a company out of Imperial that reduces prescribing errors by 83%? In this episode, we speak with Dr Nick Appelbaum , a surgeon turned entrepreneur who went from inventing spreadsheet-based prescribing safety tools in South Africa to completing a PhD with Lord Ara Darzi at Impe...

What happens when a doctor trained in experimental psychology leaves medicine in F2, builds products in Silicon Valley, runs a £10M/day COVID testing programme, and becomes Chief Product Officer of the UK's largest health research study? In this episode, we speak with Dr Cosima Gretton , a medical doctor who left clinical practice to pursue product management in the US, served as Deputy Direct...

What happens when a medical student sells a surgical robotics startup before finishing FY1 — and then spends the next decade inventing devices he deliberately never runs? In this episode, we speak with Dr Alastair Darwood , a medical doctor with a bioengineering PhD who has built a career as an inventor and entrepreneur across medical devices, consumer hardware, and cycling technology. From orthop...

What happens when a Consultant Psychiatrist, NHS Digital Exemplar leader, and GIRFT national lead decides the only way to truly fix children's mental health services is to leave the NHS and build an AI startup? In this episode, we speak with Dr Guy Northover , Consultant in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Chief Clinical Information Officer at Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, and co-...

What happens when a GP trainee with zero finance knowledge decides to break into healthcare VC — and ends up co-founding a clinician-led angel syndicate? In this episode, we speak with Dr Meenakshi Jhala , NIHR Academic Clinical Fellow at King's College London, Chief of Staff at Syntax, and co-founder of Tiny Ventures and DX Capital — a clinician-led angel syndicate dedicated to funding the in...

What happens when a cardiologist realises NHS IT is failing patients — and decides to build an AI clinician that actually listens? In this episode, we speak with Dr Dom Pimenta , a former NHS cardiologist who left clinical practice to co-found Tortus AI, an intelligent ambient voice interface for clinicians backed by Entrepreneur First and Khosla Ventures. 🏥 Why Dom's Catholic upbringing and...

What happens when a doctor spends a decade at McKinsey, returns to the NHS, and creates a Chief Innovation Officer role from scratch? In this episode, we speak with Dr Rishi Das-Gupta , former Chief Innovation Officer at Royal Brompton Hospital and now CEO of Health Innovation Network South London and DigitalHealth. London. He shares how he went from covering the whole hospital overnight as a juni...

What if the path to your true calling isn't through following expectations, but through recognising where your real talents lie? In this episode, we speak with Dr James Somauroo , former anaesthetist turned health tech entrepreneur, who transformed his realisation that he was "better at fixing the system than treating patients" into a remarkable career building the infrastructure for...

What happens when four radiologists decide to build a health tech company while still working clinically – and end up raising Series B funding while hiring junior doctors into non-clinical roles? In this episode, we speak with Dr Farzana Rahman , a consultant radiologist and CEO of Hexarad, a technology and services company that helps hospitals deliver faster and more efficient radiology reporting...

What happens when a burned-out registrar ignores consultant warnings and teaches himself code—then builds AI tools that bridge clinical care and startup innovation? In this episode, we speak with Dr Paul Jewell , a medical doctor and health tech entrepreneur who co-founded Assuric, a compliance platform for digital health companies, whilst continuing to work as a locum clinician. 🏥 The family leg...

What happens when an anaesthetist with a passion for physiology discovers the world of sleep medicine — and decides to build a tech startup to solve one of healthcare's biggest undiagnosed problems? In this episode, we speak with Dr Tom Chambers , an anaesthetist, sleep medicine specialist, and co-founder of Theta Sleep. Tom shares his journey from traditional medical training to founding a he...

What happens when a junior doctor leads the biggest NHS dispute in a generation — and then builds a global medical education organisation? In this episode, we speak with Dr Johann Malawana , an obstetrician and former chair of the BMA's Junior Doctors Committee during the high-profile 2015-2016 contract dispute. He is now the founder and CEO of Medics. Academy, a global health education compan...

What happens when two medical students spot a dirty tourniquet, build a single-use alternative that sells 75 million units globally — and one of them still operates every week as an NHS consultant plastic surgeon? In this episode, we speak with Ryan Kerstein , a consultant plastic surgeon and Associate Medical Director for Research and Innovation at Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust. Ryan leads...

What happens when a radiologist leaves clinical practice to become a HealthTech investor, backing 100+ startups, and championing philanthropy in healthcare? In this episode, we speak with  Dr Fiona Pathiraja-Moller , a former NHS radiologist turned HealthTech investor and managing partner of Christa Gali Ventures, a European investment fund backing early-stage HealthTech startups. Fiona is also a...

What happens when a doctor with cystic fibrosis, who was once told he may not be able to cope with the rigours of medicine, not only becomes a doctor but also founds a MedTech company aimed at improving patient experience? In this episode, we speak with Dr Jonathan King, a gastroenterology registrar, NHS clinical entrepreneur fellow, and founder of Medical Ease. Jonathan shares his extraordinary p...

From a junior doctor to a prominent HealthTech voice and founder – how did Dr. Derrick Khor build a thriving medical consulting group and become a go-to expert for health innovation? In this episode, we sit down with  Dr Derrick Khor , a clinical oncology doctor, HealthTech connector, and founder of the Medical Consulting Group. He shares his incredible journey from a self-proclaimed "pure me...

From the NHS front lines to health diplomacy and global consulting: How does a doctor navigate a non-linear career path, bridging East and West in health innovation? In this episode, we speak with  Dr Ruby Wang , a doctor and former Head of Health for China in the Foreign Office, now Director of Lintris – an award-winning consultancy bridging China and the West on health policy, biopharma, and med...

What does it take to move from French to UK healthtech, found not one, but two pioneering healthtech companies, and innovate obstetric surgical practice within the NHS? In this episode, we speak with  Dr Benjamin de Viaris , a women's health consultant and healthtech entrepreneur with a career spanning both France and the UK. He is the co-founder of Cellen, a pioneering platform for personalis...

What happens when a junior doctor builds a SaaS business for the NHS before SaaS was even a thing? In this episode, we sit down with  Dr Henry Carleton  — founder of  Circadian  and  Four Eyes Insight , two healthcare software companies that changed the face of workforce and theatre productivity in the NHS. Both exited successfully, setting a blueprint for clinician-led innovation long before the...

From WHO internships to NHS executive leadership — with a startup in the mix. In this episode, we speak with  Dr Victoria Bakare , a GP whose career spans global health roles at the  WHO, UN, and World Bank , a leadership position as  Associate Medical Director at Kent Community NHS Foundation Trust , and the founding of  Occuvia Health , a mission-driven occupational health company supporting cha...