Former Breast Cancer surgeon and SNP MP
Born in Belfast, Philippa has spent most of her life in Scotland. She studied Medicine at Glasgow University and, despite being told repeatedly that women couldn’t do surgery, became a Consultant surgeon, specialising in breast cancer, at Crosshouse Hospital in Kilmarnock. As well as redesigning the local service she led development of the Scottish Breast Cancer quality improvement standards and the regional cancer networks.
In the early 1990s, Philippa spent 16 months volunteering as surgeon with Medical Aid for Palestinians in Gaza, followed by a short spell in Lebanon in 1993. She returned to Gaza in 2016 when she established the Scotland Palestine Breast Cancer Partnership which helped transform services for women in Gaza and the West Bank, until the destruction of Gaza’s healthcare system.
Philippa became actively involved in politics during Scotland’s Independence Referendum, campaigning with ‘Women for Independence’ and as a founding member of ‘NHS for YES’. She was elected as the SNP MP for Central Ayrshire in 2015 and was successfully re-elected in the 2017 and 2019 Elections. She spent 6 years as the SNP Health Spokesperson, including during the pandemic, and subsequently served as European and Scottish Affairs Spokesperson.
Philippa is an active campaigner for a number of charitable causes and is now a Trustee of MAP. She has won several awards including being honoured by the Saltire Society as one of the ‘Outstanding Women of Scotland’ in 2016 and ‘People’s Choice’ MP of the Year in 2018.