Dr Ian Gargan, Chief Executive

Ian has been Chief Executive at PHIN since September 2022. 

He has extensive media experience having appeared on TV, radio and in print, including recent appearances on STV, TalkTV and BBC radio. He is also an experienced speaker at conferences and events.

As well as his commercial experience, Ian has a background as a medical doctor and qualified psychologist

His qualifications include: 

• Master of Business Administration (MBA)
• Master of Sciences in Forensic Psychology (MSc)
• BA, MB, BCh, BAO (Medical Doctor)
• Bachelor of Sciences in Applied Psychology (BSc)

Dr Chris Smith-Brown, Clinical Advisor

Chris has been PHIN's Clinical Advisor since May 2023. 

He is a doctor and health informatics specialist, who has worked in both private and public healthcare sectors.  He was previously a management consultant for Carnall Farrar, a leading healthcare consultancy.

As a Rising Leaders Fellow at the Aspen Institute UK, he engages with diverse perspectives and explores solutions to complex challenges. He is also a member of the Faculty of Medical Leadership and Management and BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT. 

Chris' media experience includes radio (e.g. BBC Northern Ireland) and print (e.g. The Telegraph, The Mail, The Sun). He has also represented PHIN at several events. 

Richard Wells, Director of Technology and Insights

Richard is an experienced director of healthcare business intelligence, analytics, and data driven decisions. 

Richard joined PHIN in January 2024 and leads PHIN’s Technology, Product and Informatics teams. These teams develop our technology for collecting and publishing data, ensure it the user experience is built into the process, and work with the submitted data to publish information on the UK's private hospitals and clinics across the UK. This all helps to provide a more transparent view of the independent sector and help patients to make more informed decisions.

Richard worked in various roles for the NHS for nearly 30 years before joining PHIN. His most recent role was as Director of Business Intelligence and Analytics at the London Ambulance Service where he worked for three years. His previous roles encompass a variety of NHS organisations, with a particular focus on data and its applications. 

Richard has appeared on LBC and BBC local radio stations and in print and spoken on behalf of PHIN at events. 

Pooja Rupalia-Seyani, Analytics Manager

Pooja is an analytics manager at the Private Healthcare Information Network (PHIN). She has worked in healthcare for nearly 10 years and brings a strong mathematical and statistical emphasis to her work. With a focus on leveraging data to drive insights and improvements in healthcare, Pooja is dedicated to helping people make informed decisions to achieve their healthcare goals.

Pooja has been media trained and has spoken at industry events. 

Contact us

To speak to one of our spokespeople, please email press@phin.org.uk or call 0777 897 6971.