Ealing Hospital Honours Ashraf the Ace Phlebotomist

His skill makes him the 'Go-to' man for difficult blood draws

Ashraf Mohamed

December 29, 2025

When staff at Ealing Hospital struggle to take a blood sample, there is one person they call. Phlebotomist Ashraf Mohamed has become the hospital’s unofficial specialist for the most challenging cases — a reputation that has now earned him the Unsung Hero (Clinical) award at the annual Staff Excellence Awards.

Ashraf’s ability to draw blood where others cannot has made him a familiar face on the wards. “It’s a combination of experience and just having a feel for it,” he said with a laugh. His colleagues, however, describe his skill as something closer to an art.

Before moving to the UK in the early 2000s, Ashraf trained and practised as a doctor in Sri Lanka during the height of the civil war. He eventually fled after being pressured by an armed group to join their cause. “I was part of an oppressed minority myself, but you do not solve anything by killing people,” he said. “Neither side had a right to do that.”

His escape involved walking through the jungle overnight to avoid being forced into action, and narrowly passing through a checkpoint without being asked for identification before boarding a boat out of the conflict zone.

Once in the UK, Ashraf chose not to return to medicine. “I really didn’t want the stress of being a doctor when I came to the UK and happily trained as a phlebotomist,” he said.

Word quickly spread among staff that he was the person to call when a blood draw proved difficult. “Common reasons include swollen arms, severe dehydration, and small veins, which is common as you get older,” he explained. His technique has attracted so much interest that even a professor and several consultants have shadowed him to see how he works.

“It’s a case of knowing where to take blood, how to take it, and paying attention to the texture of the skin,” he said. Ashraf hopes to undertake ultrasound training later this year to help locate deeper veins.

For him, the technical skill is only part of the job. “I really enjoy chatting with patients and putting them at ease first,” he said. “If you are nervous you make the patient nervous, so I always tell people to be confident and relaxed.”

He is quick to credit his colleagues too. “It helps to have a great team and I couldn’t do my job without the incredible people around me.”