Respiratory and General Physician comes out of retirement to help fight COVID-19
Neil Barnes, Respiratory and General Physician talks to us about how he has returned to the NHS after 7 years, to help with the fight against COVID-19.
What is your professional background?
I am a Respiratory and General Physician. I was appointed to the London Chest and Royal London in 1988 which then evolved into Bars and the London. I was awarded a personal chair of Respiratory Medicine by the Medical School. I was Joint R&D director. I was Clinical Head of Respiratory Medicine and in 2011 I was voted one of the top 100 doctors in the UK by the Sunday Times.
When did you retire from the NHS?
I left the NHS in September 2013 and started working for GSK as their Global Head of The Global Respiratory Franchise, I was medical head of the world’s largest respiratory company. I stepped down from that role in March 2019 and took up a part time advisory role at GSK. During my time at GSK I continued in private practice.
What inspired you to come out of retirement and come back to the frontline?
I recognised there would be a huge burden on Respiratory medicine, and I had trained many of the current respiratory physicians at Barts. I just felt I had to offer to help. I was still fully registered and therefore this was not an issue and GSK were happy for me to return to the NHS.
What is your experience so far?
Immensely impressed by the way the respiratory department has stepped up and organised itself.
What responses have you have from your colleagues?
Colleagues have been great, despite being under immense pressure.
Tell us about something positive you have experienced since being back on the frontline?
I have been doing telephone clinics and the patients have been immensely grateful.
Anything else you would like to share?
Society and the practice of Medicine will be changed in ways we can only dimly understand after this pandemic, and we should be thinking about this. I met Alwen Williams many years ago, when she shadowed me for two days to provide insight into the "life" of a Consultant Physician and we saw the only case of leprosy I have ever seen in England! I was extremely impressed with her and incredibly pleased when she was appointed Chief Executive at Barts.