I studied at the University of Sheffield and qualified with a BMedSci degree in Neurophysiology in 1993, and my MBChB degree in Medicine and Surgery in 1996. I have been a full time GP Principal since 2001 during which time I have worked as a Forensic Medical Examiner (Police Surgeon), a GPwSI in drug misuse, and also worked for our out of hours primary care service. I have also been Honorary Secretary of the Rotherham Division of British Medical Association. However, my main interest over the last few years has been as a GP specialising in obesity and diabetes management.
In 2002, I set up a weight management clinic within my Practice, which for many years remained Rotherham’s only dedicated service for adult obesity, and over subsequent years it was expanded due to demand, and a reputation for achieving good sustainable results. I was a member of the group that helped to develop the NHS Rotherham Healthy Weight Framework that won the NHS Health and Social Care Award 2009. I developed the Rotherham Institute for Obesity to provide a Rotherham wide multi-disciplinary (tier 3) service based around a specialist centre based in the primary care setting that will also tackle difficult areas such as childhood obesity as well as adult obesity, diabetes and obstructive sleep apnoea. In 2016 it became an accredited Centre of Obesity Management with the Association of the Study of Obesity.
RIO is now an established research site with a dedicated team that do commercial and non-commercial studies, specialising in obesity and diabetes related research. It is involved with our Primary Care Research Network (PCRN) and collaborates with several academic institutions, and has done numerous studies in all aspects of primary care medicine. It has worked with several pharmaceutical companies and I have been a Principal Investigator for landmark studies such as SCALE, PIONEER, and SUSTAIN and was Chief UK Investigator for the SUSTAIN 10 study. I have published numerous articles related to obesity and diabetes, as well as having published/presented numerous abstracts in the form of oral or Poster presentations at conferences.
I have been invited on to several local, regional and national strategy/advisory boards and regularly speak at meetings to all healthcare professionals in the hope of encouraging weight management and diabetes services. I am Medical Director of the commercial weight loss company Lighterlife and I am an ad hoc Medical Advisor to McDonalds. I am an Expert Advisor to the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) and have been asked to present at All Party Parliamentary Group meetings on obesity. I am a professional advisor to the Obesity Empowerment Network (OEN) and I have also been invited on to numerous Advisory Boards for the pharmaceutical industry.
I have previously been a visiting lecturer at the University of Chester on their MSc course in obesity, and an honorary senior lecturer with the University of Sheffield and I am on the Academic Advisory Board of the College of Contemporary Health (CCH). I have previously held the position of Clinical Director of the National Obesity Forum, and I developed the NOF one day Diploma in Obesity and organised the 2009 and 2010 NOF annual conferences. I am currently a co-opted Board member of the Association for the Study of Obesity (ASO) and I have helped to develop the ASO Centres of Obesity management (COMs) conferences. I have been part of the author group for RCGP accredited obesity educational courses and I have been a clinical reviewer for numerous academic journals. I have been on the Faculty of the Primary Care Academy of Diabetes Specialists (PCADS) since it formed in 2014. I have also made numerous radio and television appearances in interviews and documentaries relating to current obesity and diabetes matters.