Get to Know Amir Qureshi, Consultant
Amir Qureshi was inspired by his father's life-saving surgery to become a surgeon. Specialising in orthopaedics, he focuses on knee surgery, driven by a passion to restore mobility. We ask him about how he advocates for fairer treatment and emphasises continuous learning and patient-centered care.
What inspired you to become a surgeon?
I hadn’t considered a career in medicine growing up - I thought I was going to be a lawyer. But my dad had a massive heart attack in his fifties and needed open heart surgery. I saw him wired up in intensive care and the monumental effect that his surgery had on us as a family. I still remember the name of his surgeon after all these years - Mr Edmundson.
I knew then that I wanted to be a surgeon and help patients and their families like Mr Edmundson had helped us.
And when did you decide to specialise in orthopaedics?
Well, at first I thought I’d become a heart surgeon. But in my third year, the first surgical procedure I saw was a knee replacement and something about it really called to me. I tried lots of specialties during training of course, including cardiac surgery, but I always came back to orthopaedics. I just had that ‘this is it’ feeling and that it was what I wanted to do with my career.
What was it about orthopaedics?
My area of speciality is the knee, and it is such a complex, important, and interesting joint. People might think it’s relatively simple, just bending forwards and backwards, but there’s so much more to it. There is a really complex interplay between two bones that aren’t directly connected, and there is also plenty that can go wrong.
The knee is involved in so many aspects of daily life, whether it’s sporting or just getting around. It is so rewarding to do something that gives people back the freedom of movement.
The complexity and variety of conditions involving the knee, ranging from sports and ligament injuries, cartilage problems, biological reconstruction as well as knee replacements and redo surgery keeps me challenged!
What inspired you to join the Medbelle network?
I knew [Medbelle Chief Medical Officer] Dan Howcroft from our days as orthopaedic trainees, which is how I first came across Medbelle. It seemed that they were trying to provide a fairer deal to surgeons and their patients. It’s about fantastic personal support and aftercare to patients, and as a surgeon, it’s easy to deal with them on an individual basis, without feeling like you are being treated as just another client or partner.
And have you noticed a difference since joining the network?
I’ve noticed that it has been cheaper for patients. Knowing that patients are being looked after by a named adviser is so reassuring. Healthcare is usually a very long journey involving multiple different specialists, and with Medbelle we know where the patient is on their journey much more easily.
Meet Amir Qureshi
Amir Qureshi is a highly-experienced consultant orthopaedic surgeon specialising in knee and lower limb conditions and procedures.
What were the main challenges when you set up your own practice?
The main thing at first was getting over the imposter syndrome. You have to attract your own patients and almost start from scratch and this takes time. At first you will likely have clinics without any bookings, and it can feel as if you’ve taken too big a risk but by providing a good service, local GPs and patients find out, word starts to spread, and you see the referrals going up.
So I would advise staying focussed on providing the best possible care. Personal recommendations are so important, and you’ll find yourself treating relatives and friends of previous patients.
I don’t think of myself as running a business, but a private practice is just that - a business. There are admin and expenses to deal with, booking theatre space, and finding a practice manager - the last one is so important as this person represents you as a surgeon to patients.
I would recommend patience as well - it might take a while before it becomes financially viable. I don’t think people realise how little of the cost of a procedure goes to the surgeon, once all the other fees are taken.
Do you have any advice for students who want to be a surgeon?
This needs to be something that will keep on interesting you for the rest of your life. Initial training is eight to ten years, and then you’ll be spending decades doing that speciality. That will be a lot of very similar procedures day-in, day-out, and you’ve got to be passionate about every single one of them. And importantly, you’ve got to be passionate about that patient as a whole, not just their injured knee or leg or whichever aspect you are involved in.
I might have a clinic with thirty patients, many of whom will have very similar conditions. But for every single one of those patients, that clinic might be the culmination of years of pain, worry, and waiting. It is often years of chronic pain before they even see a doctor, then maybe months of physiotherapy, waiting for different medical appointments, before they finally arrive at my clinic.
So these people are placing their trust in me to make their lives better, and you have to make sure you deserve that trust. The only way is by listening to your patient, and being the best and most knowledgeable surgeon you can be, and that takes a lot of dedication. But if you have that dedication, you’ll be rewarded in so many ways.
It sounds like it’s an ongoing journey then?
The training doesn’t stop when you become a consultant. I hope I learn or think about something new every day until I retire - there will always be something I don’t know. That’s what drives me, always looking for new ways to get better results. I’m reading journals, thinking about problems, and every year I try to do one or two visits to surgeons who have published interesting articles, to find out what they do that’s different to me, and what I can learn. I’m also actively involved in teaching, which itself helps me to keep my knowledge fresh.
What does the teaching involve?
I spend time away from my practice every year to teach nationally and international. I have been the Education Secretary for the British Limb Reconstruction Society, and for ten years have been in charge of trainees at University Hospital Southampton, where I’m based. I also run training days and sessions at events like the British Orthopaedic Association’s annual congress. It’s something I’ve been passionate about for a long time, because teaching pushes you to learn more - you have to be the most knowledgeable in the room when you’re teaching. You come across articles you might not have seen otherwise, and you absolutely learn from the people you’re training.
