🎙 Ryan Kerstein on Turning a Dirty Tourniquet into a Global Business, Pivoting to Management Consulting, and Championing Surgical Innovation Nationally
💬 In conversation with Ryan Kerstein, Consultant Plastic Surgeon; Associate Medical Director for Research and Innovation, Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust; Director, RCS iHub
Dear Readers,
This week on Out of Programme, we’re joined by Ryan Kerstein — a consultant plastic surgeon, co-founder of ASAP Healthcare, and one of the NHS’s most passionate champions of clinical innovation. From spotting a dirty tourniquet as a medical student to directing the Royal College of Surgeons iHub, Ryan has spent his career proving that clinicians don’t have to choose between the scalpel and the startup.
🎧 Watch the full episode on YouTube:
You can also listen on: 🎧 Spotify
🌍 Highlights from the Conversation
💡 The Dirty Tourniquet Moment As a medical student, Ryan noticed clinicians reusing filthy tourniquets — or tying rubber gloves around patients’ arms — at the height of the MRSA crisis. That frustration became the seed of ASAP Healthcare, a company now supplying hospitals across the UK, Germany, Australia, Hong Kong, and the Philippines.
🧪 Proving the Problem Ryan and his co-founder Christian didn’t just complain — they walked into a microbiology lab and cultured the bugs growing on reusable tourniquets. That early validation became the foundation of a product, a business plan, and eventually a place on the NHS Supply Chain.
🏢 The BCG Detour Driven by an itch to understand how the corporate world does change management, Ryan took an out-of-programme placement at Boston Consulting Group. He worked across media, healthcare, and international projects — and came back with a toolkit that now shapes how he drives innovation inside the NHS.
🏥 Building BRAIN from the Inside At Buckinghamshire Healthcare, Ryan built the BRAIN innovation unit from scratch, securing Insights Group membership and creating a framework that bridges population health, research, and innovation under one umbrella.
🔬 The RCS iHub and a National Innovation Fellow At the Royal College of Surgeons, Ryan leads the iHub — supporting frontline clinicians with ideas and ensuring industry hears the surgical voice during product development. Six weeks ago, the college appointed its first ever National Surgical Innovation Fellow.
🎓 Creating the Next Generation Ryan teaches clinical innovation at the University of Oxford and the University of Buckingham, running programmes where medical students go into hospitals, identify real problems, and build MVPs using Google Design Sprint methodology.
💬 Why This Episode Matters
Ryan’s episode is proof that:
💡 The best innovations come from the people closest to the problem — and you don’t need to wait until you’re senior to start
🔧 Stubbornness can be a superpower when the system tells you innovation doesn’t belong on your CV
🤝 Entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship are equally valuable — and the NHS needs both to deliver the 10-year plan
⚖️ A portfolio career is possible alongside full-time clinical practice if you protect your boundaries and stay true to your priorities
As Ryan says:
“A problem can’t be that bad if it doesn’t motivate you to do something about it.”
💡 Subscribe for more stories of career reinvention:
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If you know someone contemplating their next move — share this episode with them!
Until next time,
Dr Jing Ouyang
👉 Follow me on LinkedIn for a behind-the-scenes look and reflections on Out of Programme.