Professor Bola Owolabi CBE (MRCGP, MFPH Hon, FRSPH) joined CQC as Chief Inspector of Primary Care and Community Services in July 2025.
Bola is Director of the National Healthcare Inequalities Improvement Programme at NHS England. She also works as a GP in the Midlands.
Bola has particular interest in reducing healthcare inequalities through integrated care models, service transformation, and using data insights for quality improvement.
At NHS England, she spearheaded the Core20PLUS5 approach to narrowing healthcare inequalities. This approach focuses support on the most deprived ‘Core 20’ percent of the population, ‘plus’ other underserved groups identified through local population health data (such as communities with minority ethnicity), and targets ‘5’ key clinical areas for priority improvement. Versions of the Core20PLUS5 approach are in place for both adults and children and young people.
Internationally, Bola has twice been a member of the Danish Ambassador’s Tour De Health – a 10 nation healthcare policy leaders’ summit. Additionally, she was the UK representative on the Commonwealth Fund/Academy Health Tour 2023, exploring equity in national health policy across the United States, Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore.
She was previously National Speciality Advisor for Older People and Integrated Person-Centred Care at NHS England, where she led the Anticipatory Care workstream of the National Ageing Well Programme. She collaborated with teams across NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care as part of the COVID-19 pandemic response.
Bola is an alumna of Ashridge Executive Education/Hult International Business School and holds a Masters degree with distinction in Leadership (Quality Improvement). She also received an NHS Leadership Academy Award in Executive Healthcare Leadership for Clinicians.
Bola is an Honorary Professor at the Institute of Applied Health Research, College of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Birmingham. She is also a Vice President of the Royal Society of Public Health (RSPH).
Declaration of interests
- Alder Hey Children’s Hospital NHS Foundation Trust - Non Executive Director
- Wordsmiths Global Ltd - Director
- Royal Society for Public Health – Vice President
- University of Birmingham - Honorary Professor
- Royal College of General Practitioners - Member
- British Medical Association - Member
- Faculty of Public Health, Royal College of Physicians - Honorary Member
- National Community Lottery Fund - Innovator in Residence
- Housing 21 - Non Executive Director (sabbatical)
- Various GP practices - GP practitioner
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