TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT Spotlight SPOTLIGHT ON
JOHN SANDHAM DProf CEng FIHEEM MIET
P
rofessor John Sandham began his engineering career at the age of 17, joining the Royal Air Force in 1980. He initially trained as a ground equipment technician before retraining as a medical
engineering technician in 1988. The RAF provided him with a rigorous technical foundation but, just as importantly, instilled the disciplines of accountability, evidence, teamwork, and service that have remained central throughout his career. After leaving regular service, John established a number of successful ventures spanning EBME maintenance, consultancy, digital publishing, exhibitions, and professional conferences. His career now encompasses 38 years in medical engineering management, clinical engineering leadership, consultancy, education, independent assurance, and professional engagement. Throughout that time, his work has remained focused on ensuring that healthcare technology is safe, effective, well governed, and capable of supporting high-quality patient care. Professional development has been a continuous thread throughout his career. John progressed through vocational, professional, and academic routes while working, ultimately completing a Doctorate in Professional Practice and achieving Chartered Engineer status. He is a Fellow of IHEEM and a registered Authorising Engineer (Medical Engineering). For John, professional development is most valuable when formal learning is combined with operational experience, reflection, and a willingness to challenge established practice. He believes qualifications should not simply confirm knowledge, but should strengthen judgement, build professional confidence, and enable individuals to influence decisions at a higher level. A major theme of John’s work has been the need to distinguish clearly between operational management, organisational
governance, and independent assurance. This has shaped his contribution to the development of the Authorising Engineer (Medical Engineering) role and his advocacy for stronger assurance arrangements around healthcare technology. He authored the original AE(ME) training course and continues to support the development of practitioners capable of providing independent, evidence-based advice to healthcare organisations and their Boards. John’s involvement with IHEEM has been central to this
For John, professional development is most valuable when formal learning is combined with operational experience, reflection, and a willingness to challenge established practice
work. As Chair of the Institute’s Medical Engineering Technical Platform, he has helped bring medical engineering into wider healthcare engineering and estates discussions. Through the Institute, he has contributed to professional guidance, education, conferences, technical debate, and the continued development of the AE(ME) discipline. His commitment to development also extends beyond his formal employment and Institute responsibilities. John
volunteers his time in support of charities, universities, and international development initiatives, sharing his experience through governance, mentoring, education, and professional guidance. He serves as Chair of the Board of Trustees of My Bridge International UK and as a Trustee of the Amalthea Trust. These roles enable him to apply his engineering leadership and organisational experience for wider public benefit while continuing to learn from different sectors, cultures, and communities. John has also created opportunities for others through his work as Chair of the EBME Expo and the EBME Leaders Network. These
forums bring together engineers, clinicians, educators, suppliers, and healthcare leaders to exchange knowledge, examine emerging challenges, and strengthen the professional community. For John, the greatest benefit of professional development has not been the accumulation of qualifications. It has been the ability
to test assumptions, articulate risk, support others, and influence decisions affecting patient safety and organisational resilience. His advice is straightforward: remain curious, seek responsibilities that stretch you, learn from other disciplines, and use your
development to create opportunities for others. A technical career can evolve into leadership, academia, assurance, enterprise, or charitable service when experience is converted into learning and learning into purposeful action.
October 2026 Health Estate Journal 19
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