Dr Zehra Mehdi is a Consultant Stroke Physician and the clinical lead for Hampshire Hospitals' Stroke Services.
Dr Mehdi trained at Liverpool Medicine School, graduating with honours in 2004. She undertook her Specialist Registrar training in South East London, specialising in Geriatric, General Internal and Stroke Medicine. She undertook her Stroke fellowship at King's College and St Thomas's hospital.
During her registrar training, Dr Mehdi spent two years in South Africa, helping to establish a dedicated stroke unit at the Edendale Hospital, Pietermaritzburg. On her return to the UK, Zehra completed her registrar training in the Wessex Deanery which included time with Hampshire Hospitals.
Dr Mehdi has a Master’s Degree in Medical Education from University College London and the Royal College of Physicians. This has led to a major commitment to leadership in medical education; Zehra has served as the Associate Clinical Sub-Dean for the Trust since 2022, and has been the Wessex Training Programme Director for Stroke Medicine since 2021. In 2024, she was elected to the Training and Education subcommittee of the British and Irish Association of Stroke Physicians.
Dr Mehdi is passionate about simulation based medical education and set up the Wessex stroke simulation course in 2016. Recently she has helped pioneer a national stroke simulation programme which provides standardised multidisciplinary training to healthcare professionals across the UK and the Republic of Ireland.
Additionally, Dr Mehdi has served as Return to Training Trust Champion, and co-lead the development of an annual regional return to training conference focussed on enabling clinicians to continue pursuing successful medical careers following a break from the profession.
Through her focus on driving up standards in medical education, Dr Mehdi is working to support a knowledgeable, happy and motivated workforce that can deliver the best possible outcomes for patients and their loved ones.
Dr Mehdi’s specialism in Stroke medicine has been led by a drive to provide holistic yet tailored healthcare, as well as the delivery of emergency and hyper acute care. She is passionate about delivering equitable care for patients throughout the region. She has served as Stroke Clinical Lead since 2022 and has led multiple successful quality improvement projects optimising stroke care, including the development of a highly effective expert advanced clinical practitioner team.
An extremely proud mum to three young children, Dr Mehdi is based at our Royal Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester.
