 | ||
Dr Neil Goulbourne is a GP and was Head of Corporate Development and Innovation at Virgin Care. He is now Deputy Director Strategy Group, NHS England.
He trained as a GP in Cambridge.
He was formerly National Primary Care Lead for Virgin and Clinical Development Lead for Assura. Until recently He was vice-chair of the Socialist Health Association and "remains a member, an affiliation that might seem somewhat intriguing given his day job as head of corporate development and innovation at one of the largest private providers of NHS care."
Under the Virgin Care model ‘There’s a chance as a GP to be “just a sessional doctor” if that’s what you choose. You can see patients when they’re there, but without the administrative and management responsibilities. But you can also take the opportunity to develop an expertise and share it across several sites, or take on a leadership or management role, regionally or nationally as I did. There are lots of opportunities that our scale gives us.’.
The model is, however, seen as a threat to the traditional self-employed status of General Practitioners in the UK. Goulbourne says "Companies like us have proven that the private sector can bring something that the NHS values"