Phil Hammond

Phil Hammond is a GP, writer, broadcaster and possibly the only comedian to appear at a public inquiry. He is Private Eye’s medical correspondent and broke the story of the Bristol heart scandal in 1992, which lead to the largest public inquiry in British history 7 years later.

In 2009, he broke allegations of serious errors in pathology reporting in Bristol, which lead to an inquiry in just 7 days. He has survived Ruby Wax, Have I Got News For You (7 times), The News Quiz, The Now Show, and being reported to the General Medical Council by William Hague’s Press Secretary. He was also the only doctor to appear for the prosecution on Channel 4’s Doctors on Trial.

Brought up in Australia before a traumatic relocation to every school in Marlborough, Hammond qualified as a doctor in 1987 from Girton College, Cambridge University and St Thomas’ Hospital Medical School. He became a GP in 1991 but first came into the public spotlight writing a column for The Independent and as half of Struck Off and Die, with Tony Gardner. They had five sell-out shows at the Edinburgh Fringe, were twice selected for the Perrier Pick of the Fringe and won Writers’ Guild and Silver Sony Awards when the show transformed into a Radio 4 series. In 2002, Phil fronted 28 Minutes to Save the NHS on Radio 4, which he extended to a sell out Edinburgh Fringe Show, 59 Minutes to Save the NHS and further extended to a highly successful 60-date UK tour 89 Minutes to Save the NHS.

Hammond still works part time as a GP and lecturer, but is better known for his TV work. He presented five series of Trust Me, I’m a Doctor on BBC 2, exposing wide variations in care across the NHS and co-wrote the sitcom, Doctors and Nurses, broadcast on BBC 1 in 2004. A GP-based sitcom, Polyoaks, was commissioned by Radio 4. He presented The Music Group for Radio 4 and is the author of three best-selling books: Medicine Balls, an NHS satire, Trust Me I’m Still a Doctor (20 years of whistle-blowing in Private Eye) and his latest book, a pleasure manual entitled Sex, Sleep or Scrabble? is based his experiences working in the discipline of sexual health.

Dr Phil Hammond is vice president of the Patients Association