Medical Doctor

  • I always wanted to be a doctor and was thrilled to get the opportunity. I trained as a medical doctor at University of Birmingham, which included some voluntary work in Madagascar, Cambodia and Sao Tome e Principe
  • While at medical school I joined the Royal Army Medical Corps TA, reaching the rank of Captain
  • I also have a BSc in Medical Biochemistry
  • I worked for the NHS in London and Jersey
  • I did Accident & Emergency work in the townships in Cape Town before specialising in Obstetrics (delivering babies) and Gynaecology. My special interests are family planning, abortion, sexually transmitted diseases and HIV

Healthcare Entrepreneur, offering several "UK firsts"

  • I left full-time clincial practice medicine to set up DrThom.com, one of the UK's first online doctors. DrThom was the first online medical service to register with the Care Quality Commission and , in partnership with the Chelsea & Westminster Hospital, launched one of the first online NHS service. We also launched the first HIV home test in the UK, as well as a cervical smear test off a tampon designed to help reduce anxiety around having a smear
  • You can listen to my story about DrThom and innovation in healthcare at a talk I gave at London Business School
  • Around the same time I co-founded a private medical insurance company called PatientChoice. PatientChoice was purchased by Westfield Health

Medical Director and Policy Advisor

  • DrThom was purchased by UK pharmacy chain Lloyds Pharmacy, after which I became their Medical Director
  • I next worked for the family-planning charity Marie Stopes International in London as a doctor and policy advisor

Various Roles in Life Sciences/Pharma

  • I worked for the HIV-arm of global pharma company GlaxoSmithKline, called ViiV Healthcare. Originally head-hunted to run their global innovation unit in London and Boston, I moved through several roles including UK Country Medical Director, Research & Development support, and most recently as the HIV Government Affairs Lead for regions like sub-Saharan Africa, where I worked with global health organisations including PEPFAR/USAID, WHO, UNITAID and Bill&Melinda Gates Foundation on the roll-out of a new HIV-preventing injection

NHS Innovation and Healthcare Advisor

  • Details of my current role are here
  • I also mentor and advise startups and younger healthcare-related companies