Dr Dominique Thompson

Dr Thompson caught the profession’s attention this year when she took on the CQC and won.

The Bristol GP refused to accept a ‘requires improvement’ rating after an inspection of her practice – the University of Bristol’s Students’ Health Service.

She wrote to the CQC, complaining the inspection had failed to exercise ‘due care’ in both the preparation and assessment of the practice and she had been left ‘personally speechless’ when it was suggested the practice had not sufficiently demonstrated it was ‘caring’ towards patients.

She was not deterred when her initial appeal was dismissed by chief inspector of general practice Professor Steve Field and eventually the lead inspector revisited the practice, re-rated it as good in all areas but one and wrote an apology.

Dr Thompson says she now receives enquiries from GPs cross the country asking for tips on how to follow in her footsteps and uses her experience ‘to support other GPs to challenge their ratings following similarly ill-informed or patronising inspections’. 

The past year has also seen her join the NICE eating disorders committee as the only GP reviewing national guidance and also create and launch a ‘rough guide to student health’ as an app for students.

She not only shares her wealth of expertise in young people’s mental health with her colleagues via articles for Pulse, but also briefed former care minister Norman Lamb on the subject and Conservative MP Caroline Nokes for her parliamentary group on body image.

What to watch next year: She has a long list of plans including seeing her First Step eating disorders service rolled out to other parts of the country.