Dr Amit Patel

Dr Amit Patel is a best-selling author, diversity, equity and inclusion consultant, motivational speaker, disability rights campaigner and Trustee for Vision Foundation. He is registered severely sight impaired (blind) having lost his sight to keratoconus in 2013.

Amit studied medicine at Cambridge University and qualified as a doctor, specialising in emergency medicine and major incidents. During medical school Amit was diagnosed with keratoconus, however Amit was one of the rare individuals for whom corneal transplants kept rejecting and despite travelling to the US for ground-breaking surgery, Amit lost his sight completely just one year after getting married.

Amit was matched to Kika, his first guide dog in 2015. Kika was the inspiration for Amit to write his first book called ‘Kika & Me’ which was published by Pan Macmillan in 2020 and shortlisted for the inaugural Barbellion Prize in 2020.

Today, Amit is an active campaigner for accessibility, diversity and inclusion, speaking out against the issues that disabled people face daily and supporting charities nationwide. In his corporate life, he works with clients across the spectrum, from law firms and financial services to medicine and the arts, helping them to make real change in processes and practises that will give disabled people a more level playing field when it comes to employment.

Committed to achieving greater representation of disabled people across all areas of life, Amit continues to challenge himself and challenge other people’s perceptions of disability in everything that he does. Amit is also known as a broadcaster, presenter, podcast host and media personality and is a regular on national and local news.

Dr Amit Patel is one of the judges for the Helpforce Champion Awards 2021. To read other judges' profiles, please click links below: