35. Dr Peter Swinyard

It’s no surprise to see Dr Swinyard reappear in the list, winning praise for defending traditional family medicine while ‘flying the flag for grassroots GPs in the corridors of power’.

But even the Family Doctor Association chair has not been spared the troubles of other small practices. After losing a GP partner, he faced ‘potential financial extinction’, and was forced to live on his pension and return to work full time.

This year, the Swindon GP famously published his practice’s mean GP earnings online: £22,884 – ‘much less than a train driver’. But he wants to use his experience to help the profession by presenting ‘a frontline perspective on the GP crisis’. He hopes to ‘persuade them that fine words save no surgeries, but a dollop of cash up-front (not back weighted to 2020) just might.’

If anyone can influence the Government it’s Dr Swinyard. This year also saw him play a big part in the creation of the GP Forward View which he will continue to do as a member of the consulting group created and led by Dr Arvind Madan to help implement the plans. 

Why influential: True cheerleader of smaller practices and family medicine

Surprising fact: Before becoming a GP he thought it was all about treating measles