Dr Sanjeev Nayak

Who Dr Sanjeev Nayak is

Dr Sanjeev Nayak is a Consultant Interventional Neuroradiologist at the University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust, based at Royal Stoke University Hospital. He holds MBBS, MRCP (UK), FRCR, and dual European certification in Diagnostic and Interventional Neuroradiology (UEMS), together with a fellowship in Stroke Intervention from Austria. He set up the first UK 24/7 mechanical thrombectomy service at Royal Stoke, which has expanded under his leadership to serve a region covering the Midlands, Shropshire, Cheshire and Wolverhampton. He has authored national QIPP and thrombectomy documents with NICE and other UK national authorities, and is actively involved in clinical research and thrombectomy device development. He is publicly known for advocating wider national access to mechanical thrombectomy and for arguing that the treatment's benefits — including NHS cost savings running into millions of pounds — are not yet reaching all eligible patients.

References for this biography

1. 1.Dr Sanjeev Nayak | University Hospitals of North Midlands — Full biography: role, qualifications, service establishment, regional expansion, awards and NICE involvement
2. 2.Stoke hospital delivers life-changing stroke treatment to record number of patients | Society of Radiographers — Confirms role title, 24/7 service being UK-first, 200 patients treated in 2023 (four times launch volume), and direct press quotes
3. 3.UHNM Stroke Thrombectomy Service receives national praise | UHNM — Confirms 12.8% thrombectomy rate vs 3.3% national average, and national recognition of service (September 2024)
4. 4.NHS Hero nominee – Dr Sanjeev Nayak | Your Heroes Awards — Confirms NICE guideline authorship, Sun 'Who Cares Wins' award, and NHS cost savings claim
5. 5.Thrombectomy saves brains | Stroke Association — Confirms he set up the first 24/7 mechanical thrombectomy service in the UK and his advocacy for wider access
6. 6.Advances in interventional neuroradiology: novel use of mechanical thrombectomy in acute ischemic stroke | PubMed — Establishes peer-reviewed publication record and role as lead neuroradiologist from 2010–2013
7. 7.Sanjeev Nayak (@Sanjnayak) / X — Confirms X account as belonging to Dr Sanjeev Nayak, Interventional Neuroradiologist, UHNM, Windrush 70 award winner

Notable achievements

• Set up the first UK 24/7 mechanical thrombectomy service at Royal Stoke University Hospital, which in 2023 treated 200 patients — four times the number treated when the service launched in 2009. Source ↗
• Won the Windrush70 Award for Clinical Excellence in 2018 and was invited to 10 Downing Street to meet the Prime Minister. Source ↗
• Hailed by the NHS in 2018 as one of 'health and care's top 70 stars', voted number 2 across the entire NHS, for his efforts to get mechanical thrombectomy widely adopted. Source ↗
• Won The Sun newspaper's 'Who Cares Wins' award for Ground-breaking Pioneer and Discovery, following a nomination by one of his patients. Source ↗
• Authored national QIPP and thrombectomy guideline documents with NICE and other UK national authorities. Source ↗
• UHNM treats 12.8% of stroke admissions with thrombectomy — four times the national average of 3.3% in England — under his leadership. Source ↗

What Dr Sanjeev Nayak has said

• “It is heartbreaking to see the real and avoidable impact that workforce shortages have on patient outcomes. In my experience workforce shortages directly lead to avoidable disability and, in some cases, avoidable death.”

  senior stroke specialist at Royal Stoke hospital and consultant interventional radiologist · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · Shortage of NHS stroke specialists resulting in thousands dead or disabled, say doctors ↗

• “A patient presenting during normal working hours in a well-served area may receive rapid, life-changing treatment, whereas the same patient presenting at night or in a different region may not receive thrombectomy at all. This creates a real postcode lottery in access to one of the most effective treatments in modern medicine.”

  stroke specialist at the Royal Stoke hospital in Stoke · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · Key stroke treatment still not available around the clock across England ↗

Recent social activity

• Stroke care in 2026 🧠 We now have treatments that can reverse paralysis in minutes — incredible progress. But thrombectomy still isn’t 24/7 everywhere. Not because it doesn’t work, but because systems haven’t fully caught up. Every delay matters — for independence, recovery,

  x.com ↗

• Thousands of stroke patients in the UK are dying or being left with lifelong disability because the NHS does not have enough stroke specialists to deliver time-critical treatment. With stroke affecting around 100,000 people each year, delays in expert assessment, clot-busting

  x.com ↗

Where Dr Sanjeev Nayak has been quoted

1. UHNM consultant named Clinician of the Yearuhnm.nhs.uk · 29 Sept 2026
2. Shortage of NHS stroke specialists resulting in thousands dead or disabled, say doctorstheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
3. Key stroke treatment still not available around the clock across Englandtheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026

Related media coverage

Recent UK press coverage of their topics — not necessarily citing them directly.

• Leaders in Care Awards 2026 | Lifetime Achievement: Care Homes winner revealedHome Care Insight
• GP architect of neighbourhood health reforms to leave NHS EnglandPulse Today
• An important step forward in ending corridor care - Colin Poolman | Blog | RCN ScotlandRoyal College of Nursing

Contact & links

• Staff pagehttps://www.uhnm.nhs.uk/about-us/999-critical-condition/team-uhnm/dr-sanjeev-nayak/
• Staff pagehttps://www.uhnm.nhs.uk/consultant-directory/nayak-sanjeev/
• Xhttps://x.com/Sanjnayakpublished here ↗
• LinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/sanjeev-nayak-60850322/published here ↗

Organisational contact points only, each taken from a page the organisation publishes itself. No personal or direct contact details are held or shown.