Claire Fuller

Claire took up the post of National Medical Director on 1 April 2025.

She qualified from St Mary’s Hospital in 1992, and throughout her career has remained a practising GP, with experience ranging from single-handed rural practice in Northumberland to large practices in Surrey.

In September 2023 she was appointed as the Primary Care Medical Director for NHS England.

Prior to that she was the CEO for Surrey Heartlands Integrated Care System, having held executive system leadership roles in Surrey for a decade, starting as a CCG chair before transitioning into accountable officer and CEO positions. While CEO Claire implemented the vision for integrated care within Surrey.

In November 2021 Claire was invited by former NHS England Chief Executive Amanda Pritchard to look at primary care within integrated care systems. The “Fuller Stocktake” was co-signed by all 42 ICS Chief Executives who committed to implementing the recommendations. Next steps for integrating primary care: Fuller stocktake report was published in May 2022.

Since joining NHS England, Claire has prioritised improving GP retention, improving the primary/secondary care interface, improving the awareness of patient safety issues within primary care and the creation of a network of GP leaders across England.

She led the clinical review of ADHD services, resulting in the formation of a national task force.

In October 2024, the Secretary of State and former NHS CEO asked Claire and Stella Vig to lead the #redtapechallenge, reporting back in early 2025 on ways to remove bureaucracy releasing time for clinicians, and Claire is the co-chair with Caroline Abrahams of one of the vision workstreams for the 10 Year Health Plan.

Claire is a Visiting Professor in the Faculty of Health and Medical Science at Surrey.