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Dr Amit Patel is an author, disability rights campaigner, motivational speaker and independent accessibility consultant. He is registered severely sight impaired (blind) after losing his sight in 2013 due to keratoconus.
Amit studied medicine at Cambridge University and qualified as a doctor, specialising in emergency medicine and major incidents. During medical school he was diagnosed with keratoconus, a condition that affects the shape of the cornea. Although this is often treatable, Amit experienced rare transplant rejection and, following further complex treatment abroad, sadly lost his sight completely just one year after getting married.
Since then, Amit has rebuilt his independence step by step, from relearning everyday tasks to navigating London using a white cane. He went on to volunteer with the Royal National Institute of Blind People and Guide Dogs, supporting others who are newly blind or visually impaired. In 2014, he was partnered with his first guide dog, Kika, and together they continue to navigate daily life while sharing their experiences widely.
Amit is a passionate advocate for accessibility, diversity and inclusion, working with organisations to improve understanding of disability and remove barriers faced by disabled people. He delivers consultancy, training and workshops across sectors including financial services, legal, technology, arts and transport.
As a speaker, Amit is known for his engaging and deeply human storytelling, taking audiences on a journey that moves between humour, honesty and inspiration. He also speaks on mental health, resilience, identity, and the intersection of race, class and disability.
His work has featured across major media including BBC London News, ITV London News, Channel 4 News, Channel 5 News and Sky News, and he is a regular contributor to BBC radio networks.
Amit is the author of Kika and Me, published by Pan Macmillan. He is married to Seema and they have two children.
In this powerful and practical talk, Dr Amit Patel draws on both lived experience and professional expertise to explore what true inclusion, accessibility and disability awareness really mean in today’s world. As a blind doctor, campaigner and accessibility consultant, Amit offers a unique perspective on the barriers disabled people continue to face and what organisations can do to remove them in a meaningful and lasting way.
Blending personal storytelling with real-world insight, he challenges audiences to rethink assumptions, design with accessibility in mind from the outset, and recognise the value of lived experience in shaping better services, workplaces and cultures. Amit also explores intersectionality, highlighting how disability, race and class can overlap to shape individual experience.
This session is highly engaging, practical and thought-provoking, equipping organisations with the mindset and tools needed to move beyond compliance and towards genuine inclusion.
In this deeply personal and inspiring keynote, Dr Amit Patel shares his extraordinary journey from medical student to doctor, and from fully sighted to blind within a short space of time. Following a rare and life-changing progression of keratoconus, Amit was forced to rebuild his life from the ground up, learning again how to carry out everyday tasks and navigate a world that was no longer designed in the same way for him.
With honesty, humour and openness, he reflects on the emotional and practical challenges of losing his sight, adapting to change, and finding a new sense of identity and purpose. From relearning independence to being matched with his guide dog Kika, Amit’s story is one of determination, adaptation and hope.
This talk is not just about overcoming adversity, but about reframing it. Audiences are left with a powerful understanding of resilience, mental strength and the ability to move forward when life changes unexpectedly.
