Profile: How hospital porter became man in the NHS hot seat

Professor James Barbour OBE was chief executive of NHS Lothian from 2001 until last month.

He started his career as a hospital porter at Dundee Royal Infirmary before taking part in the NHS graduate management training scheme.

After graduating, he moved on to various hospitals in London, Manchester and Aberdeen. In 1994, he became chief executive of Central Manchester Healthcare NHS Trust and four years later joined Sheffield Health Authority as chief executive.

Prof Barbour, 59, quit his £195,000-a-year role as chief executive of NHS Lothian last month.

At the time, he said: “After 35 years in the NHS and ten successful years in NHS Lothian I have decided to retire.

“The time is now right for me to do something new and different, as the board embraces a new strategic direction.”

Rumours began circulating that health secretary Nicola Sturgeon had asked Prof Barbour to resign – but the Scottish Government denied it.

His retirement was welcomed by the Royal College of Nursing Scotland, which attacked the “unhealthy culture” of top management putting “unacceptable” pressure on staff.

As a veteran of the graduate management training scheme, he continued to support it and regularly engaged in the selection process and provided mentorship support to trainees. In 2010, he received an award, the Companionship of the Institute of Healthcare Management, in recognition of his support for the scheme.