13. Dr Stephanie de Giorgio

The co-founder of Resilient GP has built up a huge following for her straight talking on the state of general practice. She now has a seat on the GPC, after repeatedly highlighting the stresses GPs face and, according to her nominators, ‘empowering GPs to say no’ through Resilient GP’s courses across the country.

She has recently said ‘no’ herself; by giving up her partnership in Kent, saying she was ‘broken’ by underfunding and over-regulation.

Her peers said: ‘Despite aggression from the traditional hierarchy of GPs she continues to vocally challenge the establishment’ and ‘leads the grassroots as we face the onslaught of anti-GP spin from the Government and the media’.

Status does not faze Dr de Giorgio; she has challenged the likes of health secretary Jeremy Hunt and former RCGP chair Professor Clare Gerada to their faces. This year she vividly articulated concerns over the GP Forward View, describing it as ‘like putting a teensy round plaster on an exsanguinating patient’.

Dr de Giorgio is also clinical communications lead for NHS South Kent Coast CCG, but says her greatest achievement is her work on highlighting the issue of perinatal mental health.  

She is a member of the RCGP’s special interest group and says: ‘continuing to educate GPs and the public on the issue of perinatal mental illness has been really interesting. I hosted a twitter chat with Carrie Ladd in conjunction with Sport Relief and it there were 65,000 twitter impressions as a result of it – three times normal for the RCGP. We had lots of great feedback and my online presence with regards to perinatal mental health has continued to spread the word and ensure people get help who might not otherwise have.’  

Why influential: Gutsy and articulate voice of grassroots GPs, with a seat on the GPC

Surprising fact: Has Canadian citizenship