SAS regional representative network

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SAS regional representative network

SAS regional representative network

The 嫩草影院 SAS regional representative network has been created to ensure that SAS doctors鈥� needs, views and interests are represented within the regional teams and to increase their active involvement with the 嫩草影院.

We recently held a special networking forum for SAS doctors hosted by 嫩草影院 president Professor Mumtaz Patel where they were invited to share their experiences, challenges and priorities for change. Hear what they had to say.听

Meet your SAS regional representatives

Dr Sara Ahsan

London North West

Dr Sara Ahsan

London North West

Dr Sara Ahsan works in rehabilitation medicine in Hillingdon Hospital as a speciality doctor, a post that she has held for about a decade. She works in Daniels Rehab Unit which is a 16-bed ward for patients with brain and spinal cord pathology requiring neurorehabilitation. She also runs an outpatient Spasticity clinic and has a collegiate membership in the 嫩草影院.

Dr Ahsan is passionate about supporting the SAS doctors in career progression as well as helping them get the recognition they deserve as important senior members of clinical teams. She hopes that she will be able to support the 嫩草影院 and SAS lead and her contributions to the SAS workforce will make a difference in the long term vision that 嫩草影院 has for the SAS doctors working within the NHS.

Dr Naeem Aziz

SAS lead

Dr Naeem Aziz

SAS lead

On his appointment, Dr Naeem Aziz said:

鈥楢fter more than 20 years in the NHS as an SAS doctor, I am truly honoured to be appointed as the 嫩草影院 SAS lead. I am the only SAS physician in my organisation (and possibly in Wales) to be appointed as a clinical director. In my health board, we have developed a bespoke autonomous working policy for SAS doctors, a GMC portfolio pathway support policy and network, and a dedicated support network for international medical graduates, amongst many other initiatives.

鈥業 want to take what I鈥檝e learned in my local leadership role and expand on this work, collaborating with other medical royal colleges, the GMC, the SAS Collective, NHS Employers and the trade unions to help NHS trusts and health boards to put this in practice.

鈥業 am proud to be an SAS doctor and a fellow of the 嫩草影院. Being an SAS doctor is a fascinating and fulfilling career in its own right and provides an exciting alternative for those doctors who do not want to follow a national training pathway to become a consultant.鈥�

Dr Omar Mustafa, interim 嫩草影院 registrar and Global vice president said:

鈥榃elcome to Dr Aziz as the new SAS lead. I am delighted to have his expertise at the 嫩草影院. I look forward to collaborating with him, the SAS network and the wider SAS community on the 嫩草影院 SAS strategy and advocating for SAS doctors.鈥�

Dr Muhammad Azam

West Midlands

Dr Muhammad Azam

West Midlands

Dr Muhammad Azam has lived and worked in several countries, including the UK. His first and only job in the NHS was as a middle grade physician in 2005, which was later converted to SAS doctor. His areas of expertise are diabetes in ethnic minorities, weight management, foot diseases and medical research.

Muhammad is the 嫩草影院 SAS representative for the West Midlands region. He works at Birmingham Heartlands Hospital within the University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust. He is a clinical supervisor and regularly supports junior specialist doctors, higher specialist doctors and international medical trainees.

His vision is to advocate the SAS pathway as a choice that offers a rewarding career. Further to this he aspires to help SAS colleagues develop experience and apply for fellowship of the 嫩草影院.

贰尘补颈濒:听muhammad.azam@uhb.nhs.uk听辞谤听muhammad.azam@hotmail.co.uk

Dr Somaditya Bandyopadhyay

Kent, Surrey and Sussex

Dr Somaditya Bandyopadhyay

Kent, Surrey and Sussex

Dr Somaditya Bandyopadhyay is an international graduate from the Medical College, Calcutta, India. Sam is a specialist in geriatric medicine with an interest in ortho-geriatrics and Parkinson鈥檚 disease. He is also the joint training programme director for FY2 doctors in the trust.

Sam has been a member of the Education and Training Committee of the British Geriatrics Society since 2021. He created a support group through the social network of aspiring CESR (geriatrics) candidates and managed to add a few geriatricians who were successful in their CESR applications as mentors. The group is not exclusive to BGS members and is open to any SAS doctor who aspires to apply through the CESR pathway; 17 from this group of more than 70 doctors have applied for CESR (geriatrics).

Sam was concerned about the strikes affecting the work pattern of the SAS doctors and successfully appealed to the GMC and J嫩草影院TB through the British Geriatrics Society in July 2023 to extend the deadline for CESR applications under the old curriculum from 31 August 2023 to 31 October 2023.

He works in close collaboration with the Workforce Committee of the British Geriatric Society and believes that, with their wealth of experience and knowledge, the SAS doctors are one of the solutions to the workforce crisis in the NHS.

Dr Jeenat Khan

Northern Ireland

Dr Jeenat Khan

Northern Ireland

Specialty doctor in geriatris and stroke medicine, Ulster Hospital.

Dr Jeenat Khan is a specialty doctor in geriatrics and stroke medicine at Ulster Hospital, South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust in Belfast. Jeenat has an interest in medical education and holds a postgraduate diploma in medical education from Queens University Belfast and is currently undertaking a master鈥檚. After completing ILM5 and Chrysalis leadership programmes, she works as a coach and mentor for the trust, providing support to colleagues. Her team was among the finalists for the HPMA awards in 2022 for the Chrysalis programme.

Jeenat is sub dean clinical lecturer and foundation clinical supervisor for her trust. She is a clinical facilitator for the Northern Ireland Medical and Dental Training Agency (NIMDTA) and regularly hosts workshops. She is a GMC-recognised trainer and autonomously runs a neurovascular TIA clinic for SETRUST.

Jeenat hopes to promote networking of SAS colleagues across all four nations and encourage them to take up educational and leadership roles. She hopes to increase numbers of specialist posts across all trusts in NI to improve patient access and reduce waiting time. She encourages SAS colleagues to get involved in 嫩草影院 activities and aims to ensure the CESR pathway is streamlined and made accessible to all those qualify. She plans to work with the 嫩草影院, trusts and NIMDTA to ensure that IMGs get any extra support they require. She鈥檚 looking forward to working with colleagues from all specialties to improve the SAS doctor profile and recognise their contributions in healthcare.

Email: jeenat55@yahoo.com

Dr Muhammad Imran Khokhar

Eastern

Dr Muhammad Imran Khokhar

Eastern

Dr Muhammad Imran Khokhar is a cardiology physician with more than 26 years of clinical experience in cardiovascular medicine across international healthcare systems. His professional career includes practice in his country of origin, more than 12 years in the Middle East, and service within the United Kingdom鈥檚 National Health Service (NHS) since 2019.

He currently works as a specialty doctor in cardiology at Basildon University Hospital, where he contributes to the delivery of specialist cardiovascular services. Dr Khokhar has particular expertise in cardiac device implantation, supporting the management of complex cardiac rhythm conditions through modern device therapies and evidence-based clinical practice. He works closely with multidisciplinary teams to deliver safe, high-quality patient care.

He also has a strong commitment to medical education and mentorship. Holding a postgraduate diploma in medical and healthcare education, he actively supports the development of junior doctors and medical students through clinical teaching, supervision, and mentorship.

Dr Khokhar is appointed as 嫩草影院 SAS representative the Eastern region.

A key focus of Dr Khokhar鈥檚 professional vision is the development and recognition of specialty and associate specialist (SAS) doctors. He is committed to promoting fair access to training, clearer career development pathways, and stronger leadership opportunities for SAS doctors within the NHS.

Dr Vineet Pant

Mersey

Dr Vineet Pant

Mersey

Dr Vineet Pant is a specialist in nuclear medicine, currently working at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital (RLUH), UK. He has over 18 years of independent experience in diagnostic and therapeutic nuclear medicine, including PET-CT, radionuclide therapies, and clinical leadership.

After qualifying in India and completing his DNB in nuclear medicine in 2009, Dr Pant obtained the European fellowship in nuclear medicine and undertook a Theranostics fellowship at an ENETS centre of excellence in Germany. He moved to the UK in 2021 under the MTI scheme and now works as a Specialist Doctor at RLUH, independently performing a broad range of nuclear medicine procedures, including radionuclide therapies such as radioactive iodine, Lu-177 PRRT, and PSMA therapy.

Dr Pant is actively involved in medical education, teaching doctors and fellows at RLUH and delivering lectures to MSc students at the University of Liverpool. Previously, he was a postgraduate faculty member for DNB (nuclear medicine) and IGNOU in India.

He holds several leadership roles within the department, including representing nuclear medicine in multidisciplinary team (MDT) meetings and contributing to therapy planning and patient care pathways. He organised the first virtual national conference of the association of nuclear medicine physicians of India (ANMPICON 2021) and served as its secretary general from 2019 to 2021.

He has co-authored a book chapter in the springer series clinicians鈥� guides to radionuclide hybrid imaging and has published widely in international journals. In 2023, he was selected as a finalist for the young investigator prize at BNMS.

Dr Thea Preston

Northern

Dr Thea Preston

Northern

Dr Thea Preston is a specialist in general medicine working in the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Gateshead, as well as being co-foundation tutor there.

Thea originally trained in ophthalmology, which is what brought her to the north east from Wessex. However, after a few years she missed medicine and went back to medical training. She found the continuous moving from hospital to hospital and not having a stable team difficult, so after completing her ACCS-AM (acute care common stem 鈥� acute medicine) programme she made the decision to step out of training. She had support from senior colleagues to create a specialty doctor post, and has now been based in Gateshead for 7 years. During this time, she has been able to progress to autonomous practice and has also been given opportunities in leadership and education.

Thea does not believe traditional training is right for everyone (though it is for some). She became an SAS regional representative to raise awareness and recognition of SAS careers as an alternative option that can work to give people stability.

Dr Sumanta Kumer Saha

Wessex

Dr Sumanta Kumer Saha

Wessex

Dr Sumanta Kumer Saha is a specialist in acute medicine at St Mary鈥檚 Hospital, Isle of Wight NHS Trust. He holds M嫩草影院 (UK) and Fellowships of the Royal Colleges of Physicians of London and Edinburgh (F嫩草影院).

He has extensive experience in acute and general internal medicine and a strong interest in medical education, leadership, and professional development. Dr Saha has been involved in teaching and mentoring doctors for postgraduate medical examinations, including M嫩草影院, for over 15 years.

He is also the founder of SsAcademy International, an educational platform supporting doctors worldwide with postgraduate medical training. As the SAS regional representative for Wessex, he is committed to advocating for SAS doctors, promoting career development opportunities, and supporting pathways such as CESR and specialist progression within the NHS.

Dr Ruford Sequeira

Wales

Dr Ruford Sequeira

Wales

Dr Sequeira has been working autonomously since 2022 and took up a part time role as locum consultant, while maintaining his SAS role. He has also been a local negotiating committee member of his health board since 2016. Dr Sequeira has been successful in obtaining a full-time specialist grade job in the department of care of the elderly in community division at Royal Gwent Hospital.

On his appointment, Dr Sequeira said:

'To be selected as the 嫩草影院 SAS representative for Wales is a real honour. I am here to share my experience as a SAS doctor and to work towards ensuring the SAS doctors have equal access to educational opportunities and progression in their careers, while supporting their involvement in the delivery of education, training, and academic activities. I have been an associate member of the 嫩草影院 for many years and encourage my SAS colleagues to actively take part in 嫩草影院 activities in order to improve their knowledge and understanding of the 嫩草影院鈥檚 role in their professional development.'

Dr Heather Sullivan

SAS doctor representative

Dr Heather Sullivan

SAS doctor representative

Dr Heather Sullivan is a Liverpool Medical School Graduate who joined the SAS workforce after completing core medical training and attaining her M嫩草影院, as a speciality doctor in Diabetes and Endocrinology. Her main areas of clinical interest include diabetes foot care, young adult diabetes and endocrinology. She loves the role and the option it gives for focus on the speciality, service development, appraisal, education and mentorship while allowing for a healthy work life balance as a mother to two young children.

Recently becoming SAS Advocate for her trust, Dr Sullivan is passionate about empowering other SAS doctors in their career paths and ensuring that Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust is an appealing and enjoyable place to work as an SAS doctor.

It is via this route she has found herself drawn to being a 嫩草影院 SAS doctor representative. Through which she wishes to encourage collaborative working and communication between different SAS members throughout England.

鈥淚t is through collaboration that we can learn together and support each other in our career progression, engendering a positive culture of successful, empowered and passionate SAS professionals as core members in the NHS鈥�.

SAS forums

These digital forums have been designed to foster an open and collaborative environment to connect with SAS peers across the UK and to share your experiences. Each session aims to celebrate the SAS role and offer some professional guidance and tips.

Free to attend - all are welcome.

Find out more

Become an SAS regional representative

The 嫩草影院 is looking for enthusiastic SAS doctors to fill positions on the staff and associate specialist (SAS) regional representative network.

View our current vacancies

Have you visited 嫩草影院 Launchpad?

If you're looking for career support and guidance, why not visit 嫩草影院 Launchpad?

This online platform hosts a range of unique resources and bite sized videos which aim to support new consultants, early career SAS doctors, and senior resident doctors about to step up.

This resource is a membership benefit for 嫩草影院 subscribing members and fellows.

嫩草影院 Launchpad