The Federation of Independent Practitioner Organisations (FIPO) is the overarching body for specialist professional associations whose members practise within the independent healthcare sector. Our membership is made up of organisations not individual doctors which collectively represent consultants and specialists working in private practice.
We are an independent, non-commercial federation that brings together specialist medical organisations to provide a strong, unified voice for doctors practising outside the NHS. FIPO exists to ensure that independent practitioners are represented fairly and effectively within the wider private healthcare environment.
We promote medical practice that is led by professional expertise and responsive to individual clinical need, rather than driven by bureaucracy or commercial interests. Our purpose is to uphold high professional standards and support patient-centred care across the independent sector.
Mr Richard Packard, Chairman MD DO FRCS FRCOphth FEBOS-CR(Hon)
Richard Packard is a retired consultant ophthalmic surgeon with over four decades of experience in private practice, spanning from 1980 to 2021, and a distinguished career in the NHS until his retirement in 2016. From 1999 he ran the multidisciplinary ophthalmic practice Arnott Eye Associates. His professional life has been firmly rooted in the independent sector, giving him a deep and practical understanding of the commercial, regulatory and professional pressures facing independent specialist consultants.
He has been actively involved with FIPO since 2006, becoming Vice Chair in 2008 and serving as Chairman since 2022. During this time, he has led the organisation through complex regulatory and market challenges, including engagement with the Competition and Markets Authority throughout the appeal process. This has given him first-hand experience of the regulatory environment in which independent practitioners operate and the strategic leadership required to represent their interests effectively.
Having spent a lifetime navigating the realities of independent practice, he is acutely aware of the challenges consultants face, particularly when seeking guidance, advocacy or support. He is committed to ensuring that FIPO provides clear leadership and personal, practical support to consultants who approach the organisation with concerns, reinforcing FIPO’s role as a trusted voice and champion for independent medical specialists.
Mr Charlie Chan, Vice Chairman, DPhil FRCS
Charlie Chan is a consultant general surgeon based in Cheltenham, with extensive experience in both NHS and private practice. He was first appointed as an NHS consultant in Bournemouth in 1999, at which time he also established his private practice. He subsequently moved to a consultant post in Cheltenham, leaving the NHS in 2013 to work exclusively in full-time private practice.
In 2008, he was invited to work with FIPO and has served as Vice Chair from 2022. He was Medical Advisory Committee (MAC) Chair at the Nuffield Hospital, Cheltenham, for almost 12 years, during which time he developed significant expertise in patient safety, the monitoring of safe medical practice, and understanding the importance of ensuring patients are able to consult with the specialist of their choice. As senior author of the national 2005 and 2009 BASO Guidelines for the management of breast patients, he has also acted as an independent expert medical witness for nearly 20 years. In 2012, he was invited by the former Bishop of Norwich to serve as a professional adviser to the Independent Report into the disgraced breast surgeon, Ian Paterson.