Welcome to Money, Sky News‘ consumer and personal finance hub. A brain surgeon reveals what it’s really like in our regular careers feature, from pay and his unlikely first job to saving lives and volunteering in Gaza. Read and comment below – we’ll be back with live updates on Tuesday.
Saturday 3 May 2025 09:05, UK
Dreaming of a new career? Each week we speak to someone from a different profession to discover what it’s really like. This week we chat to Dr Ismail Ughratdar, a pioneering neurosurgeon at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham…
The starting salary of a consultant neurosurgeon in the UK… is just under £100,000. It will take a further 20 years to reach around £140,000.
It is a privilege to work in this field, despite the relatively crap pay… for the amount of complexity and stress associated with the job.
Hands-on training takes around… 10 to 15 years, including operating theatre, clinics, experiencing MDTs (multidisciplinary teams), and so on. Emergency and elective operating.
I work between… 60 and 70 hours a week, on average.
On operating day I arrive at… 7am. I see patients pre-op. I then start operating at around 8.30am and that can go through until 6.30pm. I do a post-op ward round as well to check on patients. Clinic MDT day, where experts from different disciplines combine to make decisions about patient care, typically starts at 8.30am until 5pm. Plus I review inpatients in-between.
The most common reason for brain surgery is… brain tumours.
During surgery I’m thinking about… the next operative steps and potential hazards to avoid.
To switch off after work, I use… meditation. Spending time with family is the most important thing as well.
The biggest mistake I have ever made is… not forcing a young patient to stay in hospital against medical advice. He later died. Poor communication is the most common mistake in the industry.
There are a handful of brain tumour patients who have been told… that surgery is not possible and they have come to me for a second opinion. In the majority of these cases, I have gone on to undertake fairly complicated procedures, thankfully with good outcomes. These patients have been extremely grateful and I have found doing surgeries for them very rewarding. I’ve just come back from a three-week stint in Gaza. I removed shrapnel and bullets from the heads of children and teenagers.
To look after your brain you should… eat well, ideally non-processed foods, exercise and keep mentally active. Be sure to read, and I don’t mean on your phone!
Some „brain health“ tips are myths… one being magic food that gives instant brain health, for example. Also, that all brain damage is always permanent.
My first job was… selling double glazing door-to-door aged 16. I was trying to save money for college. In the NHS it was gastroenterology and general medicine house officer.
The difference between NHS surgery and surgeries completed through private healthcare is… quicker access to theatre and other facilities, such as scans. Better furnished wards and food, things like that. Private surgery is done by the consultant only.
I think the NHS has… too many managers and wastage. It needs to be run by medics. In my opinion, no one party should control the NHS – it should be a cross-party team.
Singapore… has the best healthcare in the world.
I have operated on… more than 5,000 brains.
A brain tumour looks… grey compared to white normal brain. Removing a bullet from the brain is a memory that stands out.
A typical brain surgery takes… two to four hours. Typically, staff will talk about the operation.
If you need to go to the toilet during surgery… we have assistants, so they can take over for a while! Or we can cover the operative site with wet sterile gauze and take a break. Sometimes we do this to help control bleeding.
I break bad news to family members… with a lot of empathy and sensitivity – the hardest is when it is to parents of young patients. However, it is a skill that I’ve honed over many years and from learning from great mentors.
My plan is to retire at… 60. I would love to travel. And to carry on with volunteer medical deployments, as I currently do.
I have a standard NHS pension... members pay in 12.5% and the employer contribution rate is 23.7%.
We’re running this feature on a Saturday due to the bank holiday – it’ll be back to Monday after next week. If you want to take part in this feature – even anonymously – email moneyblog@sky.uk.
The past week has seen the emergence of a series of significant stories, all while the UK economy more generally continues to feel the effects of the global trade war launched across the pond.
Hack attacks
The week started with the news that Marks & Spencer had ordered hundreds of agency workers at its main distribution centre to stay at home after a cyber attack.
For more than a week, the British retailer was left unable to accept contactless payments, fully stock its shelves or let customers shop online.
The chaos has rumbled on this week, with customers sharing images online of empty shelves at branches across the country.
The attack has been linked to the notorious young hacking group Scattered Spider – who you can read more about here.
And just two days later, it emerged hackers had attempted to break into Co-op’s systems, forcing the retailer to shut down some of its operations to block the criminals.
In order to stop the hack, Co-op told Sky News it took „proactive steps“ that „resulted in a small impact to some of our back office and call centre services“.
Co-op members and customers appeared to have escaped major immediate impact, with a spokesperson saying they were not being asked „to do anything differently at this point“.
A third hack was then reported yesterday afternoon by our City editor Mark Kleinman – at luxury shopping brand Harrods.
Our Daily podcast focused on the story this week – it’s well worth a listen…
Mortgage rate falls
There was better news for those looking to buy a house, with Zoopla saying expectations for lower interest rates over 2025 look set to keep mortgage rates at current levels or lower.
HSBC UK was the latest bank to cut mortgage rates, knocking up to 0.24 percentage points off this week and increasing the number of mortgage deals below 4%.
„While house price growth is expected to slow further, towards 1 to 1.5%, we’re still on course for a 5% uplift in sales volumes in 2025, assuming sellers remain pragmatic on pricing,“ said Richard Donnell, executive director at Zoopla.
„Regions where affordability is better aligned to local incomes, particularly across the North and Midlands, are set to lead this recovery.“
Some lenders have recently announced changes to stress rates used in their affordability calculations, however, which could increase some people’s ability to borrow.
The food industry’s dirty secret
Money blog feature writer Brad Young sat down with numerous experts who explained how food manufacturers were incentivised to exploit your genetics, encourage over-eating and to remove a crucial healthy ingredient from their products.
These experts say it is costing the poorest families their health and the country billions of pounds to deal with the consequences.
Adding preservatives, and salt and sugar, while removing fibre – which can spoil food – leads to lower storage, transport and wastage costs for food companies.
But while it’s helping those businesses‘ profit margins, it’s harming our guts – and making us want to eat more, and more, and more.
Tip of the week
Arguably, the most useful tip this week came in the form of the huge tranche of new holiday data released by travel website giant Expedia.
Just as many of us are looking to get our summer break plans locked down, the firm released some potentially very useful information.
According to its data, the cheapest dates to fly are 8 and 12 June, while the least busy are 27 and 31 August.
In terms of dates to avoid, the most expensive are 19 and 26 July – and the busiest 20 June and 25 July.
How Lucie made millions
Lucie posted a video on TikTok about her homemade hair oil during the COVID-19 pandemic.
That video went viral, and Lucie was soon inundated with messages asking if it was for sale.
Fast-forward a few years, and now the 25-year-old heads up a multimillion-pound beauty brand.
In this episode of New Money, Sky’s James Lillywhite visited the Hair Syrup warehouse in Pembrokeshire to find out how Lucie did it, and why they are based in rural Wales.
Before you go, remember to check back in on Saturday for our weekly feature, which will look at the fascinating topic of what it’s really like to be a brain surgeon.
Have a good weekend – we’ll be back with live updates on Tuesday after the bank holiday.
If you fancy visiting a National Trust property this summer, this next deal might be one for you. You can get free* entry to a property of your choice, worth up to about £50.
We say free* with a asterisks, because you do actually have to buy a newspaper, but this can cost as little as £1.20.
If you pick up a copy of the Daily Star (£1.20), Daily Mirror or Daily Express (both £1.80) from tomorrow until next Sunday (11 May), you’ll find a free National Trust family pass printed as a voucher.
It’s a one-time pass you can use between 6 May and 29 June, for two adults and up to three children.
Pros: This is a great deal if you are looking for a cheap day out.
Cons: Some car parks do still charge fees – this pass doesn’t cover that, so don’t get caught out. It also doesn’t include any National Trust Scotland or English Heritage sites.
Tip: It’s cheaper to buy a paper on a weekday, so if you are only buying it for the voucher, grab a copy on Monday.
Some properties will require you to book in advance, but this is relatively simple. You just use REACHSPRING25 when asked for your membership number to avoid entering any bank details. You will then need to show your voucher when you arrive.
British vets could face a temporary price cap on pet medicines as regulators investigate whether owners are being ripped off.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) could also force vet practices to clearly display their prices for prescription and dispensing fees, medicines, surgeries, treatments, and out-of-hours help.
Some 56,000 customers raised concerns about the veterinary sector, including that they may be overpaying for medicines and prescriptions, and are not being given basic information.
The CMA said it was also considering a cap on the markups vet practices can make when selling cremations, which are sold „at a vulnerable moment“.
The regulator said it is concerned by the impact of recent consolidation in the sector, where large groups have bought out swathes of independent practices.
About 60% of vet practices now belong to large companies, while in 2013 it was just 10%.
There are some decent deals available at IKEA over the next few days, if you are planning on shopping there already, or just want a cheap way to feed your family over the bank holiday weekend.
£1 meatballs
You can get a portion of eight IKEA meatballs for just £1 at their in-store restaurants this weekend.
Available until Monday 5 May when you scan your IKEA Family card (which is free to sign up for), you can get this offer from 11am at participating stores (see below, but crucially it does exclude the new London Oxford Street store).
The meatballs – which come with a side of mashed potato/chips, peas, the cream sauce and the lingonberry jam, can cost up to £7.95 normally (depending on location), with the plant-based balls also available (usual price £4.95).
You can get a portion of kids‘ meatballs for 50p.
The participating stores for this one are: Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Croydon, Edinburgh, Exeter, Gateshead, Glasgow, Greenwich, Hammersmith, Lakeside, Leeds, Manchester, Milton Keynes, Nottingham, Reading, Sheffield, Southampton, Warrington, and Wembley.
Free tea and coffee
The Family card will also get you a free cup of tea or filter coffee (normally £1) when you are shopping, but this is only valid on weekdays.
It’s valid at all stores except Hammersmith, Aberdeen Order & Collection Point and Plan & Order Points.
The new point system
IKEA has revamped its loyalty scheme, so now you can earn points for interacting with the brand in different ways.
Here’s what you can do to collect points (other than spend money):
Once you’ve built up points you can then use them for money off delivery, or to get cheaper food in the restaurant, or just for money off your shop.
But is it worth it? Let’s look at the maths…
125 points will save you £10, so if you collect points just by spending money, it’ll cost you £625 to achieve this.
Or you can use 22 points (equivalent to £110 in spending) to get a Daim cake for 10p, while £225 in spending will bag you 50p meatballs.
So it’s not the best discount scheme we’ve ever seen here at Money, BUT if you are already spending the money because you have a purchase planned, and are double stacking it with cashback/giftcard savings, it’s better than nothing.
A look at the continuing impact of Donald Trump’s tariffs now.
Unveiling financial results from January to March, Apple said the US president’s escalating trade war has had a limited impact on its performance so far.
However, Apple CEO Tim Cook believes the tariffs will add £677m in costs during the current quarter alone – assuming Trump’s policies do not change.
It’s not yet clear if those extra costs will make their way to customer level in the UK. Analysts previously told Money in April that iPhone costs could increase by 43% for shoppers in the US because of tariffs.
It’s perhaps not surprising, then, that Apple also says devices sold in the US will no longer come from China, as the tech giant tries to mitigate the impact of the trade barriers.
Most iPhones will be sourced from India instead, with iPads coming from Vietnam, to prevent dramatic price rises for American consumers.
Tap below for more details on this story…
Aldi has updated the app for its new „just walk out“ store after it found shoppers were being charged £10 – even if they didn’t enter.
Previously, Aldi’s Shop & Go app prompted users to „get code“ – if they tapped this prompt it would instantly take £10 from their linked payment card, even if they didn’t enter the shop. It would then take several days for this to be refunded to their card.
However, a new update means the app generates a QR code which only deducts the money if the code is scanned as they enter Aldi’s only Shop & Go store in Greenwich, southeast London.
The app puts the £10 towards their shopping bill, which is automatically taken when they leave the store. If they spend less than £10 (or even nothing at all) they are issued a refund, but this could also take several days.
The store uses technology that monitors anything you pick up, with your card being charged when you leave, without you having to scan anything or visit a till.
Restaurant chain Prezzo is changing its name – ever so slightly – after 25 years.
It will now be known as Prezzo Italian.
The new approach has been launched in London’s High Street Kensington, with the restaurant group adopting a new look and positioning itself as the „home of Italian classics“.
Four sites – in Cambridge, King’s Lynn, Chelmsford and Aberdeen – will be refurbished and rebranded in the coming weeks.
A further 15 are expected to be converted by the end of 2025.
There is a new menu, lunchtime offers, and a specials programme.
Sky News revealed last September that James Brown, who worked closely with BrewDog founder James Watt during almost a decade with the craft brewer, had been unveiled as Prezzo’s new CEO.
A hotel in Mexico has been named the „best of the best“.
Secrets Akumal Riviera Maya, south of Cancun, has topped TripAdvisor’s Travellers‘ Choice Awards.
It has an average rating of 4.8 from almost 14,000 reviews.
The site says „wellness lovers“ can head for the steam room and spa, while there are diving and bicycle tours for „adventurers“.
There is also snorkelling, tequila tastings and poolside buffets.
Here’s an aerial shot of the hotel from its X account…
Second was Grandvrio Ocean Resort Danang in Vietnam, with its „stunning sea views and pristine beach access“.
Third was Gokulam Grand Turtle on the Beach in India, which is „perfect for families“.
Here’s the full top 10 of the world’s best hotels, according to TripAdvisor:
Are you worried about high interest rates? Sky News is keen to hear from people who are due to re-fix their mortgages in the next year, are on variable rates or are trying to get on the housing ladder.
Email your stories to sky.today@sky.uk – or WhatsApp us here.
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Money blog: 'I'm a brain surgeon – here's what we earn (I don't think it's good) and easy ways to keep your mind healthy' – Sky News
