Early on I read an article by Sir Magdi Yacoub, the renowned cardiothoracic surgeon, and he talked about in his training, seeking out the very best people he could to study with and work with to learn as much as possible and integrated it all into his practice.

That idea stayed with me.

I was fortunate with my first ophthalmology post at the Sussex Eye Hospital in Brighton. I had excellent teachers and was given excellent training in surgery at a young age, which set me up for this virtuous circle of continuing surgical experience.

I was well taught in the beginning so as a result, I became a competent eye surgeon very early on, which meant that every job I then went to, whoever was supervising and teaching me said ‘you can do this’ and they gave me more complex work and gave me big lists. It just fed into this virtuous circle of increasing surgical experience.

Then I just chased the very best jobs and the best experience that I could around the world.

I was lucky to work in Reading and then at the Oxford Hospital. Then I worked with the surgeons here in Yorkshire on the registrar rotation, and there are some amazing teachers with a lot of surgical experience.

I was also fortunate enough to head off to Australia for a year and work with Graham Barrett who is a genius. He is an innovator, and we got to spend a year just picking his brain and understanding more about optics and about how we try and deliver improved outcomes for our patients. It was incredible.

Then to round it off with time at Moorfields Hospital, which is the world’s largest eye hospital. You want to spend some time there just because of the number of cases coming through the door but also there are some incredible surgeons there, and it was a real privilege to work with them.

Then I was ready and wanted to be an independent consultant. I was delighted when I was appointed as a Consultant here in Leeds. I enjoyed ten years working full-time in one of Europe’s largest teaching hospitals and certainly one of the busiest eye departments in the country, dealing with a complex case load of cataract and corneal pathology.

I have enjoyed the work that I’ve undertaken with Andy Morrell over the last ten years where we managed to set up an effective, safe and successful laser eye surgery service at St. James Laser Vision. I still really enjoy using the technology that we put together there. I still enjoy seeing the beneficial impact we have and improving the quality of people’s lives both in our cosmetic practice, decreasing people’s dependence from spectacles, but also in our therapeutic work treating painful conditions and curing blindness in patients with corneal disorders. It’s been a great journey, and I’m still enjoying the ride.