Cited in UK press coverage of health & social care
1 citation
Across 1 topic, first on 27 Aug 2026.
Biography
Dr Eric Watts is a retired consultant haematologist who qualified from Glasgow University in 1971 and worked in general practice in Clapham and Canada before specialising in haematology. He held a diploma in health service management from Keele University and served as clinical director at Basildon Hospital for ten years. In retirement he was elected as a governor of two hospitals in Essex and worked with the Royal College of Physicians on public and patient engagement. He served as Chair of Doctors for the NHS (DFNHS), a campaigning organisation formed in March 2015 when the NHS Consultants' Association renamed itself and opened membership to GPs and medical trainees. He is publicly known for arguing against the marketisation and privatisation of the NHS, and for the view that the NHS is a more cost-effective system than private alternatives.
References
- 1.Who We Are – Doctors for the NHS — Confirms Eric Watts's medical training (Glasgow University, 1971), career in haematology, clinical directorship at Basildon Hospital, retirement activities including hospital governorships in Essex and work with the Royal College of Physicians.
- 2.Press release: 'Call the doctor – which credit card please?' – Doctors for the NHS — Identifies Dr Eric Watts as Chair of Doctors for the NHS and consultant haematologist; quotes his public argument against private GP services; confirms DFNHS was formed in March 2015 from the NHS Consultants' Association.
- 3.Press Release: Treat the disease not the symptom, Mr Hunt – Doctors for the NHS — Identifies Dr Eric Watts as Chair of Doctors for the NHS and hospital consultant in Essex; records his public statements on the NHS funding crisis and social care.
- 4.Doctors' group to fight NHS break-up – Socialist Health Association — Confirms Eric Watts as Co-Chair of DFNHS at launch and as a retired hospital consultant haematologist; records his public statements on NHS privatisation.
Expertise
Cited on
Stated areas of expertise
- NHS privatisation and marketisation
- NHS funding and sustainability
- Consultant workforce conditions
- Patient safety policy
- Public and patient engagement
- Junior doctors' working conditions
Notable achievements
- Co-founded and chaired Doctors for the NHS (DFNHS) from its formation in March 2015, when the NHS Consultants' Association renamed itself and expanded to include GPs and trainees. Source ↗
- Wrote formally to the Chair of the General Medical Council on behalf of DFNHS about the state of the NHS and the working conditions of doctors, receiving a substantive reply. Source ↗
- Submitted DFNHS's response to NHS Improvement's consultation on its patient safety strategy on behalf of the organisation. Source ↗
- Invited to participate in the ITV studio audience for 'The Agenda', a prime-time topical debate programme, as Chair of Doctors for the NHS. Source ↗
What they’ve said
“The most significant call to end the blame culture was by Prof Donald Berwick 25 years ago in his seminal publication To Err Is Human.”
Former chair, Doctors for the NHS · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · Who’s to blame for the NHS’s blame culture? | Letters ↗
Source references
- Who’s to blame for the NHS’s blame culture? | Letterstheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
Contact & links
Organisational contact points only, each taken from a page the organisation publishes itself. No personal or direct contact details are held or shown.
Doctors, nurses, allied health professionals and other registered clinicians quoted in a clinical capacity. Citations are counted by an automated scan of UK press coverage and may be incomplete. Roles, biographies and contact details are researched and human-reviewed before they appear here; anything not yet reviewed is simply absent rather than shown unverified. See the methodology for how this page is built, or email contact@bridgeheadcommunications.com to correct anything on it.