LONDON: A British Pakistani has been elected as President of the Royal Society of Medicine (ENT Section) in recognition of his services to Britain’s National Health Service (NHS) and medical education.



Prof Shahed Quraishi is a Consultant ENT and he becomes the first Pakistani ever to get appointed at this post. The Royal Society of Medicine is one of the most prestigious organisation of senior British doctors and one of the UK's major providers of postgraduate medical education. He will be taking charge as the President of the Royal Society of Medicine (Laryngology & Rhinology Section) in London after two weeks.

On occasion of appointment as a visiting Professor in China.

Speaking to The News/Geo, Dr Quraishi said that he was elected unopposed by around 500 doctors from the United Kingdom who are members of the ENT section.

“I am humbled and honoured to have this privilege. Being of British Pakistani origin, it’s a great honour for Pakistan and speaks volumes about the contribution of British Pakistani diaspora. I hope that my elevation inspires British Pakistani children and others alike,” he said.

Prof Shahed Quraishi OBE is a Consultant ENT surgeon and Head & Neck Surgeon who graduated from the Dow Medical College, Karachi and has been working in Britain’s National Health Service (NHS) for nearly 31 years. He’s originally from Karachi but also gained education from Cadet College Hasan Abdaal and later joined Dow Medical College Karachi.

Prof Shahed Quraishi with family outside Buckingham Palace.

He is currently a consultant at Doncaster Royal Infirmary and in 2016 was appointed as the first surgeon of British Pakistani origin as a visiting Professor in China in the field of ENT surgery. Prof Quraishi is the founder of ENT Masterclass, UK, which is the world’s biggest and free ENT teaching platform currently working in 12 countries across 4 continents including Pakistan.

“I have extensive teaching involvement all over the world and I have chaired training events in Sydney, Berlin, London, Jeddah, Cape Town, Mumbai, Lusanne and Hong Kong,” he said.

In November 2017, Dr Quraishi was awarded the title of ‘Officer of the British Empire’ (OBE) by Her Majesty the Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace in recognition of his services to the NHS and Medical Education. He was also given the National Award for Clinical Excellence by the NHS in 2015.

“My nomination for the OBE title to Buckingham Palace was made by my hospital Doncaster Royal Infirmary and a group of ENT surgeons. The Queen asked me about my work and she asked me about pollution in London and asked what could be done to reduce emissions. I gave her my suggestions. She was very well-informed and having audience with her was a great privilege,” Dr Quraishi told this scribe, adding that in the area of ENT no other surgeon has got the title of OBE in the last 40 years in the speciality of ENT.

Prof Quraishi’s wife Humaira is a GP doctor in Nottingham and he has two daughters.

He said: “My elder daughter Natasha is a Cambridge graduate and a junior doctor in London while the younger daughter Sarah is a medical student in Nottingham. We have devoted ourselves to education of our girls and helped them to make their own choices in life.”

Prof Quraishi is also known for having an extensive coin collection including some from the time of the Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon HIm) and the Caliphates of Umayyads, Abbasids, Ottomans and Al- Andalus and the Mughal Empire.