Professor Nikhil Patel is an experienced clinician within East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust (ESHT) and a Senior Consultant Cardiologist practicing in Eastbourne for the last 20 years. In 2013 he was awarded a National Silver Award in recognition of his contribution to the health service.
He is the Deputy Chief of Medicine and Cardiovascular lead (Stroke, Diabetes and Cardiology) at the Trust and holds a regional role as the Head of The School of Medicine for Health England Kent, Surrey and Sussex. He was recently elected as President of the Royal Society of Medicine (Cardiac Section).
He studied medicine at the Guy’s Hospital Medical School, part of the University of London, qualifying in 1989 with an MB BS.
Professor Patel conducted his Cardiology training predominantly within the south east at King’s College Hospital in London, (1992-93), the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford (1993), Guys Hospital (1994-96), St Thomas’ Hospital (1997-98), Eastbourne District General Hospital (1998).
In September 1999, he was appointed as the youngest Consultant Cardiologist in the country and now works mainly as a consultant at the Trust. He is a visiting Consultant Cardiologist at both Guy’s and St Thomas Trust and the Royal Sussex County Hospital Brighton. Professor Patel specialises in General Cardiology including chest pain, heart failure, hypertension and cardiac arrhythmias (Atrial Fibrillation and Syncope).
His subspecialty expertise is in complex pacing including cardiac resynchronisation therapy (CRT), internal cardiac defibrillators (ICD) and coronary intervention (coronary angioplasty and stenting). He has pioneered new technologies with his eminent colleagues in East Sussex over the last 20 years. Many of theses have been featured in both the local and national media.
Professor Patel undertakes a range of educational roles overseeing 500 trainees and 20 training programme directors in the Kent Surrey and Sussex School of Medicine. He is a senior lecturer to Brighton and Sussex Medical Schools and a recently pointed Professor at Canterbury Christchurch University. He has co supervised higher research degrees at Msc and PhD level and continues to undertake research into cardiac devices management, heart valve disease, exercise heart function, and areas of clinical cardiology.
Professor Patel has admitting rights to the other institutions: Sussex Premier Health at Eastbourne DGH; Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital in London.