MSk Lab

Recently Mr Kash Akhtar was awarded a prize at the British Association for Surgery of the Knee (BASK) 2013 Annual Conference for his work on assessing surgical skills using a Virtual Reality knee arthroscopy simulator, which is just one of his many achievements of late. The most prestigious was receiving a Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Fellowship.

“I was surprised to be awarded the Fellowship as there is stiff competition with over 1200 people applying, for 100 places, from all walks of life with wide ranging and fascinating projects such as therapeutic horticulture, millinery, iron art casting, corporate social responsibility, renewable energy generation and the use of theatre in engaging marginalised young people. The process was rigorous and included an initial application, followed by a more detailed written project proposal after shortlisting and then final interviews. I feel greatly honoured to be associated with one of the most influential and inspiring people in history ”.

The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust was established after his death in gratitude for his inspired leadership in order to create a living memorial that would benefit future generations of British people.  The purpose of the Fellowship award is to recognise and support Britons of great promise to travel overseas, to bring back knowledge and best practice for the benefit of others in their professions and communities.

Mr Kash Akhtar, Clinical Lecturer in Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery, currently works with Mr Chimnay Gupte and Professor Justin Cobb in the MSk Lab, Imperial College London, specialising in the education and training of surgeons using simulation and technology. Their work has been shortlisted for the prestigious Jacques Duparc award at EFFORT 2013 in Istanbul this summer.

Mr Akhtar will be undertaking a project called “Mind the gap: ensuring effective continuity of medical care”.

Talking about what his Fellowship entails, he commented:

“I will be visiting centres of excellence in Orthopaedic surgery in the United States for two months to see how they manage their patients peri-operatively to improve clinical outcomes, minimise complications and reduce unnecessary readmissions and burden on the system. The ‘Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act’, commonly known as ‘Obamacare’, has put a great emphasis on preventative healthcare and electronic medical records. There are several US hospitals leading the way on this.  Hospitals with excessive readmissions will face significant penalties and I am intrigued by how the use of electronic health records might address this by facilitating better communication between primary and secondary care.

I am looking forward to working closely with US surgeons and engaging with my hosts for the sharing of best practices and future collaboration. I hope to be able to bring home new ideas and ways of working that will benefit patients undergoing orthopaedic surgery here in the UK.”