Mr Ashok Acharya
Consultant Trauma & Orthopaedic Surgeon
MS(Orth), FRCS, MSc(Ortho Eng), FRCS(Orth), FEBOT(EU)
"Getting you back on your feet."
Languages spoken
English, French, Gujarati, Hindi, Urdu
I am a Consultant Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgeon working at Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust. My elective (non-emergency) work is split between King George Hospital, Ilford and Queen's Hospital, Romford. I also provide regular on-call support for orthopaedic accident and emergency patients at Queen’s Hospital.
I specialise in adult foot and ankle surgery and all types of children’s (paediatric) orthopaedics. I keep up-to-date with surgical care of orthopaedic trauma via my on-call commitments and my work as an Acute Trauma Life Support (ATLS) Instructor. I believe that all patients have the right to expect the best of care from their healthcare professionals and I do my best to always achieve this standard.
While I practice all aspects of adult foot and ankle surgery, I have a particular interest in minimally-invasive (keyhole) foot and ankle surgery. I am particularly proud of introducing ‘keyhole’ bunion corrective surgery to the Essex area, with its significant benefits to patients in terms of minimal pain, scarring and stiffness and therefore a quicker recovery.
After gaining my medical qualification and masters in orthopaedic surgery from one of the top medical institutes in India, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, I came to the UK for further training. I completed my specialist orthopaedic training in Wales and was awarded the Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT) by the GMC in January 2011. During my training I also spent time in France and Canada doing hands-on surgical fellowships. I consider it my duty to pass my knowledge and skills to up-and-coming surgeons in the UK and abroad and I participate regularly in regional, national and international meetings and workshops. I recently hosted a visiting surgeon from a leading Indian University for four weeks, during which I introduced him to techniques in foot and ankle surgery that are difficult to learn in India.
I am the research lead for the orthopaedic department at BHR Hospitals and my goal is to put our hospital on the path to being on the national and international map as a centre of clinical and research excellence.
In the last three years, I have performed or supervised about 850 procedures, of which around 75% were planned adult foot and ankle and paediatric orthopaedic cases. In a typical year, besides other operations and injection treatments, I do approximately 20 mid-foot fusions; 10 hindfoot fusions; six ankle fusion and replacements; 30 ankle, foot and knee arthroscopies, 15 tendon reconstructions; 50 big toe corrections, fusions and replacements, 50 lesser toe corrections and 15 neuroma excisions.
I use the Amplitude pro oneTM System to gather Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) data for all my foot and ankle surgical patients. Over time, this data will help me analyse which procedures help my patients most so that I can adjust my practice accordingly.
Treatment information
Some of the principal treatments carried out by Mr Ashok Acharya at Spire include:
Orthopaedics
- Ankle arthroscopy
- Ankle replacement
- Bunion removal and treatment
- Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy (ESWT)
- Ganglion removal surgery
- Joint pain treatment (joint injections)
- Joint manipulation treatment
- Knee arthroscopy surgery
- Morton's neuroma excision
Orthopaedics - ankle and foot
Paediatrics
Other treatments
- Foot and ankle surgery
- General orthopaedics and trauma
- Children's orthopaedics: 12 months to 18 years
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Additional information
Clinical interests
Special clinical interests: Forefoot surgery, minimally invasive bunion surgery, ankle arthroscopy and surgery, paediatric orthopaedics.
Qualification and professional memberships
MBBS / Mangalore University, India / 1990
Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery
MS (Orth) / Manipal Academy of Higher Education, India / 1996
Master of Surgery Orthopaedics
FRCS / Royal College of Physicians & Surgeons of Glasgow / 2001
Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons
MSc (Ortho Eng) / Cardiff University / 2007
Master of College of Surgeons
FRCS (Orth) / Intercollegiate Specialty Board, UK / 2009
Fellow of Royal College of Surgeons
FEBOT / European Board of Orthopaedics & Traumatology / 2009
Fellow of European Board of Orthopaedics & Traumatology
ATLS Instructor / Royal College of Surgeons of England / 2015
Advanced Trauma Life Support Instructor
Professional memberships
British Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society (BOFAS)
British Society of Children's Orthopaedic Surgeons (BSCOS)
British Indian Orthopaedic Society (BIOS)
Research and publications
Use of Patient Related Outcome Measures (PROMs) in foot and ankle surgery.
Current NHS posts
Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust.
Personal profile
I live in Chelmsford with my wife, who is a secondary school teacher, and our two children, who attend local schools.
I believe that it is important to give back to society, as one receives. I actively support the fundraising activities of my son’s school, KEGS, and of Farleigh Hospice, which provides care to people with life-limiting illnesses across mid Essex. I am also joint treasurer for our village residents group.
I like to keep fit by playing badminton, cycling, jogging, swimming and, more recently, dancing. My other interests include gastronomy, travel, music, movies and socialising with friends and family. I am an avid reader and a member of the BBC Radio two Book Club. In 2017 I was delighted to appear on Simon Mayo’s Drivetime Show to review Paula Hawkins’ novel ‘Into the Water’.
In our multi-cultural society, doctors often treat patients whose first language is not English. I am fortunate that, besides English, I am fluent in French and eight Indian languages (Hindi/Urdu, Marathi, Konkani, Kannada, Tamil, Gujarati, Malayalam, Tulu). This enables me to communicate effectively with patients from various cultural backgrounds, win their confidence and put them on the road to recovery.