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Meet the ex-striker thinking outside the box in his latest challenge to help save the NHS – and change perceptions of footballers.

Dexter Blackstock turned his back on football in June 2017 when he quit Rotherham after relegation from the Championship.

The 32-year-old was fit enough to still play on and had two years left on his contract.

But after 14 years since coming through as a youngster at Southampton before spells with QPR and Nottingham Forest, Blackstock had finally had enough.

The striker, who played for England U21s and the Antigua and Barbuda national team, walked away from the game has since gone into business full-time in property and also works within the pharmaceutical industry.

(Image: Reuters)

It is his experience in medications that has led the ex-Premier League footballer to promote a new online pilot scheme called MediConnect which is a safety net for patients, prescribers, pharmacies and drug manufacturers.

Blackstock insists his plan, which is published in a whitepaper, can save lives and slash NHS costs.

Blackstock told Mirror.co.uk: “I had two years left at Rotherham and I quit.

“I had got into property and had the pharmacy interests while I was still playing.

“I wasn't day-to-day in the office but it became a successful business.

“If I didn't have anything else to do or other options I might have toughed it out but I was washing my own kit in the Championship with no facilities and had finally had enough.

(Image: Rex) (Image: Mirror Digital)

“People said: 'what are you doing' but I felt I could do more with my own time.

“I said I would take my chances! I have not regretted it for one second.

“I haven't put on my boots or kicked a ball since – apart from with my son in the garden. I have been fortunate things have gone well off the field but I work hard on it.

“Footballers do sometimes get a bad reputation but I brought my first property when I was 18.

“I remember an older player saying to me when I was about 22 'don't buy a fast car because you will never earn this money again'.

“It was genuine advice but it didn't make any sense to me because how can you say that and restrict your possibilities?”

Now Blackstock has turned his energies to raising funding for his MediConnect project.

He has a whitepaper out detailing plans after identifying the need to prevent patients ordering prescriptions with different, multiple pharmacies in potentially lethal doses.

This is particularly a problem with online pharmacies because there is no shared database.

But MediConnect solves the issue using blockchain technology developed by respected London-based firm Stratis.

Stratis CEO and founder Chris Trew said: “MediConnect will revolutionise the medical industry.”

Blackstock also feels it is important to tackle counterfeit drugs and prevent their distribution, with the World Health Organisation estimating 50% of drugs purchased online are fake.

(Image: Paul Thomas)

Blackstock's MediConnect solution provides a drug provenance tracker throughout the supply chain from manufacturer to patient, who receive transparency and reassurance the medication is legitimate.

It also prevents patients taking, and doctors prescribing, different incompatible medicines by mistake which may be potentially deadly.

Blackstock added: “It is ground-breaking and could transform the medical industry and save the NHS millions and millions.

“This will save lives and combat counterfeit drugs. It is a mind-blowing plan.”

Blackstock's plan opened for crowd-funding from Wednesday, January 16.

His blockchain technology is supported by crypto-currency which investors can buy into.

Patients, who will have their records stored on an immutable, de-centralised blockchain, can use MEDI tokens to pay directly for prescriptions which includes many perks, such as discounts.