‘Engaging in public service and helping others is incredibly rewarding'

Was studying medicine at King’s always the plan?

My dad was a general practitioner and his dad was, too. I was never pushed into studying medicine, but I suppose there was an element of following in family footsteps.

My dad also studied at King’s. That was another deciding factor.

What’s your favourite memory of King’s?

I saw The Smiths at Tutu’s during Freshers’ Week in 1983. I spent a lot of time in King’s Bar on the Strand. I played football for King’s as well. And I became director of the King’s College Hospital Music and Drama Society for a few years.

What’s your favourite memory of your studies?

Professor Nigel Holder was an inspiring lecturer, academic and leader. We became friends. He was great fun, hugely interesting and quite a maverick in his own way. He looked a bit like Clint Eastwood, too. He died far too young from a very rare autoimmune disease.

What was your first job after university?

I spent my first year after studying medicine at King’s in my house officer job. It was the equivalent of being a junior doctor.

I then studied for an MPhil at Cambridge. I did my doctorate in history and philosophy of public health after that. My thesis became a book, Air, the Environment and Public Health.

Is that what prompted the move into public health roles?

The mix of medicine and philosophy gave me the opportunity to see there were other possibilities in a medical career. I went back into clinical medicine for a few years, but I was intrigued by investigating what makes populations and communities healthy and unhealthy.

What was your first public health role?

It was Director of Public Health and Medical Director at Camden Primary Care Trust. I was looking after the health of the people of Camden. That encompassed all infectious disease outbreaks, immunisation and screening programmes, health improvement campaigns and helping to create health services for the people, hospital and community.

Several big roles followed…

I moved from local to national organisations. Positions included Director of Global Public Health at Public Health England, and National Director of Public Health Strategy, Director of Research & Development and Medical Director at the Health Protection Agency.

It was a real step up to work at this level. It was sometimes complicated when restructures occurred. In 2012, for example, the Health Protection Agency, a non-departmental public body, became Public Health England, which was part of government.

I was also responsible for setting up a new government global health strategy. This focused on the UK supporting low-income countries to build up their public health infrastructures.

You then became Clinical Director (National Clinical Policy) at NHS England…

I left Public Health England in 2019 after almost a decade of leading the international public health work. I took time off from work, although I did consultancy for the World Health Organization.

During this period, I got an offer from a publisher to write a series of children’s books. At the time, writing was more of a hobby. But there was this offer for a series of books on the table.

I’d also accepted an interesting job as Clinical Director (National Clinical Policy) at NHS England. This role was a three-days-a-week job and it gave me time to write. About three months after I accepted the role, COVID happened and I went full-time to help tackle the pandemic.

What was your role during the pandemic?

I chaired the national groups of experts deciding on which therapeutic drugs made to treat COVID should be made available in England. It was an fascinating and demanding role.

You also worked with the Football Association…

I was, and remain, their Senior Public Health Advisor. This involved advising them on how to carry on staging matches during the pandemic. We put in place restrictions and guidelines for domestic and international events. That was also when England were hosting the 2021 European Championships in 2022.

You then became National Deputy Medical Director (Specialised Services) for NHS England.

When the pandemic started to abate, I returned to my three-days-a-week job. Then more restructurings happened and I became the National Deputy Medical Director. I still had the responsibilities of the Clinical Director role, but it was much bigger and it was full-time.

I hold Medical Director responsibilities for all health services that are considered to be specialist. That includes intensive care, cardiology or respiratory treatments.

You also have a life as an award-winning author. How did this begin?

I started writing stories to entertain my daughter. These became a children’s book, The Amazing Adventures of Perch the Cat. That was published and it sparked more ideas.

I find writing a powerful experience. When I’m immersed in it, there’s nothing else on my mind. I’m in touch with an inner sense of harmony and my own creativity.

Can you tell us about your Don’t Doubt the Rainbow series of books?

They’re thrilling adventure stories involving a teenage detective called Edie Marble. Also threaded through the books are tools to encourage mental wellbeing in children and young adults. So far, the books have won or been short-listed for ten awards.

The first book, The Five Clues, was published in 2021, the second, Outside Chance, was released in 2022, and the third, American Mystery, came out in 2025.

The fourth in the series, The Book of Names, is coming out in early 2026. In this, Edie investigates a case involving art potentially stolen from her grandmother’s family by the Nazis in 1941 Poland. This book is incredibly close to my heart because I’ve drawn on my own grandmother’s family history. She came from Poland and lost most of her family in the war. I’ve researched her story and visited her home town, Zyrardow, and have folded this, as well as a personal visit to Auschwitz, into the narrative.

You’ve had an amazing career. Is there anything left for you to do?

There’s a significant restructuring in the NHS at the moment, so part of my current role is to help my team navigate that. But I’m very content. Having said that, I’d be delighted if Netflix wanted to make a series of my books!

Finally, what advice would you give to King’s alumni aiming for careers in medicine?

Despite the current upheaval in the NHS, I maintain that medicine offers fabulous career opportunities. Engaging in public service and helping others is incredibly rewarding.

At the same time, don’t be defined by your career choices. We all have other talents and skills to offer the world, so explore those. Create a life that you can call your own.

Learn more about Anthony’s adventure books for children and listen to him being interviewed on the BBC Radio 3 show, Private Passions.