Professor Steve Field was something of a runaway winner with our panel after making it his business to be ‘the face of general practice' during almost two and a half years as chair of the RCGP.
He made constant media appearances during the swine flu pandemic and was widely praised for combining authority with the common touch.
Whenever there has been a big report requiring the involvement of general practice, he seems to have had a hand in it, from redrafted guidance on skin and cervical cancer, to the recent report on out-of-hours care, which he drafted with primary care tsar Dr David Colin-Thomé.
Professor Field was also adviser to Lord Darzi in the run-up to the Next Stage Review, which didn't stop him criticising the blanket rollout of GP-led health centres. He has championed GP federations as the long-term future of general practice, though the key question is what the more immediate future holds – with his term as RCGP chair due to end in November.
What he says
‘During my chairmanship I've worked hard to influence policy on cancer diagnosis and health inequalities.'
‘We now need to build even stronger networks with politicians of all parties to get primary care right to the centre of the NHS. The future will be more care in the community, but with transfer of resources from hospitals.'
Professor Steve Field Top 50 most influential GPs
To view the full list of Pulse's top 50 most influential GPs, put together by a panel of leading GPs to mark Pulse's 50th anniversary, please click here.
