Hello, I'm Krestey Young, and this is a podcast from the Desert Island Discs archive.

For rights reasons, we've had to shorten the music.

The program was originally broadcast in 2008. My castaway this week is the pioneering surgeon Professor Aradarsi, a world expert in keyhole surgery, he's also been nicknamed Robodoc for introducing

frontline technology to the operating theatre.

Born in Iraq, an early brush with death sparked a lifelong passion for the power to heal.

He went on to study medicine in Ireland, moving to England to finish his training.

Young, talented, and possibly a little impatient to display his surgical skills,

he would spend his Friday and Saturday nights hanging round hospitals, waiting to see if he could

make himself useful.

And he did. He was offered a consultant's post when he was

scarcely out of his 20s, a professorship and a knighthood followed soon after. So now, Adarsi, as well as spending half your time in hospital, you are a health minister.

You're charged with the not inconsiderable task of shaping the NHS for the demands of the

patients of the future.

I can't imagine you exactly needed other work to fill up your time. Why in earth did you take on the task? Well, I got the phone call last year from the Prime Minister and to my complete shock I was got smacked when he turned

around and said he wishes me to undertake a review of the NHS and appoint me as

a Minister of Health in his government. A great privilege to be asked. I've always enjoyed a

challenge. It was very challenging decision to make for a period of time, but once I was convinced that I could maintain my clinical and

scientific activity I was more than happy to contribute four days a week to

lead this major review of the NHS.

Did you have you sound as if you had to be convinced? I mean did you turn him down?

You know, this took me by a complete surprise.

You know, I've always had ambitions and I always had aspirations to do things, but this certainly wasn't on my list.

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