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Dr Onkar Sahota AM was first elected as the member of the London Assembly for Ealing and Hillingdon in May 2012. Arriving with his family in 1961, Onkar’s family first lived in Hayes in the London Borough of Hillingdon. Originally from the Punjab, India, his parent settled in the UK in order to provide a better future for their children as with hundreds of other families of that generation. His father first worked for British Airways at Heathrow as a maintenance worker, eventually establishing a local grocery business. His early experiences have instilled Onkar with a passion for ensuring opportunities for others to succeed, as well as the value of aspiration. Fulfilling a lifelong ambition, Onkar graduated in 1989 from Sheffield University Medical School. He also holds an MBA from the London Business School, having also attended the John F Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. A practicing GP, Onkar has been a family doctor in West London since 1989 and maintains GP surgeries in Hanwell and Southall serving some 12,000 patients. Like many clinicians who have been elected to public office, he continues to practice part-time in order to retain his licence to practice. Professionally, Onkar in addition to his work as a family doctor was a member of the Ealing Primary Care Trust Professional Executive Committee from 2002-2008. From 1997 to 2000 he undertook work funded by the Department for International Development in Russia and Uzbekistan on reform of Primary Care, and advised the Heathrow City Regeneration Partnership on health and community projects. At the Assembly, Onkar is Labour’s spokesperson for Health, chairing the Health Committee. With a keen interest in the delivery of Crossrail and High Speed 2 within his constituency, as well as the Davies Commission and the future of Heathrow, he also sits on the GLA Oversight Committee. Dr Onkar Sahota writes in his capacity as Chair of the London Assembly Health Committee and separately as Labour health spokesperson. This is made clear at the start of the article.
