About Me

Born in Manchester, a product of a doctor/nurse marriage, it was perhaps inevitable that I should follow in my father's footsteps and enter the medical profession. After obtaining my university degree, I completed the compulsory 12 months as a resident "house officer" in a large city centre hospital. It was an unforgettable experience. With a dozen of my contemporaries, I was "thrown in at the deep end". We lived in the doctors "mess", and were on duty for anything up to 100 hours a week. Like squaddies under the charge of a belligerent sergeant major, we survived thanks to a combination of dark humour and bloody minded perseverance! This compulsory year completed, I undertook surgical training then gained 25 years experience as a consultant surgeon.

My desire to influence the effectiveness of clinical practice led me to undertake management training and to become the medical director of an NHS Trust – though I continued as a practising
surgeon.
When I finally hung up my scalpel, I took a post as a clinical advisor to the Healthcare Commission, reviewing the quality of surgical practice and learning the lessons when things went wrong.