Professor Tim BriggsClinician

Biography

Professor Tim Briggs CBE is a consultant orthopaedic surgeon at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital (RNOH), Stanmore, where he was appointed in 1992 after qualifying from the Royal London Hospital in 1982. He conceived and developed the Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) programme as a pilot in orthopaedic surgery while serving as President of the British Orthopaedic Association in 2014, and the methodology has since been extended to more than 40 surgical and medical specialties across the NHS. In November 2022 he was appointed National Director for Clinical Improvement and Elective Recovery at NHS England, adding to his continuing role as Chair of the GIRFT programme. He is known for arguing that the NHS must eliminate unwarranted variation in clinical practice before seeking additional funding, and for championing data-driven, clinician-led peer review as the mechanism to achieve this. He also chairs the Veterans Covenant Healthcare Alliance (VCHA) and holds the honorary rank of Colonel of 202 (Midlands) Field Hospital RAMC. He was appointed CBE in the 2018 New Year's Honours List for services to the surgical profession.

References

1. 1.Professor Tim Briggs – GIRFT Leadership Team — Current role titles, RNOH appointment, BOA presidency, CBE, Veterans Covenant Healthcare Alliance, and RAMC honorary colonelcy
2. 2.Professor Tim Briggs – Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital consultant profile — Medical training, RNOH appointment 1992, specialist interests, successive NHS Director roles from 2015 to 2022
3. 3.GIRFT Chair Professor Tim Briggs appointed to key NHS England elective recovery role — November 2022 appointment as National Director for Clinical Improvement and Elective Recovery; pilot programme savings of £30m–£50m in first 12 months
4. 4.Getting It Right in Orthopaedics follow-up – GIRFT — £696m savings figure, reduction in length of stay by a fifth, falling revision rates since 2012
5. 5.

Expertise

Cited on

• Hospital discharge / bed-blocking
• NHS waiting lists

Stated areas of expertise

• Elective care recovery and waiting lists
• Unwarranted variation in clinical practice
• Orthopaedic surgery and oncology
• NHS productivity and efficiency
• Clinically-led quality improvement
• Veterans' healthcare

Notable achievements

• Founded the GIRFT programme as an orthopaedic pilot that delivered an estimated £30m–£50m of efficiencies in its first 12 months, subsequently expanding to more than 40 NHS specialties. Source ↗
• The GIRFT orthopaedic follow-up report (2020) recorded £696 million of operational and financial opportunities released to NHS trusts, alongside a reduction in average length of stay by a fifth and falling revision rates every year since 2012. Source ↗
• Appointed CBE in the 2018 New Year's Honours List for services to the surgical profession. Source ↗
• Appointed National Director for Clinical Improvement and Elective Recovery at NHS England in November 2022, leading the most ambitious elective catch-up plan in NHS history. Source ↗
• The 2015 GIRFT orthopaedic national report led to NHS Improvement investing £60m to expand the programme to 40 medical and surgical specialties. Source ↗

What they’ve said

• “It is a serious, invasive procedure that can be beneficial for patients when there is a genuine clinical need but carries significant risks and requires informed discussions between patient and surgeon. Patients face months of treatment, which can be extremely painful, with the possibility of infection, nerve damage, blood clots and even permanent disability.”

  orthopaedic surgeon and NHS England's national director for clinical improvement and elective recovery · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · NHS urges people to avoid ‘extremely painful’ leg-lengthening surgery ↗

• “recently wrote to praise the significant efforts by teams – noting that the service has moved from bottom of the country for treating patients within 18 weeks last year, to third best nationally by April this year”

  National Clinical Lead for Getting it Right First Time (GIRFT) · NHS waiting lists · 12 Aug 2026 · Progress in addressing our ENT backlog ↗

Source references

1. NHS urges people to avoid ‘extremely painful’ leg-lengthening surgerytheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
2. Progress in addressing our ENT backlogmedway.nhs.uk · 12 Aug 2026

Contact & links

• Staff pagehttps://gettingitrightfirsttime.co.uk/team-member/professor-tim-briggs/published here ↗
• Staff pagehttps://www.rnoh.nhs.uk/health-professionals/consultants/professor-tim-briggs
• Websitehttps://gettingitrightfirsttime.co.ukpublished here ↗

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