Born in Aberdeen, Dr Steyn studied medicine at his home town University in 1984. He was a rural GP on the West Coast of Scotland where he was first exposed to prehospital care and subsequently trained in surgery. In 1999 he was appointed Consultant Thoracic Surgeon at Heartlands Hospital before taking on more senior managerial roles including Medical Director at University Hospitals Birmingham and more recently as Co-Medical Director at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals.
He has had a long-term interest in chest and major trauma specialties as well as being a former Chairman of BASICs and an office bearer with the Faculty of Pre-Hospital Care within the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh.