On 22nd April 2026, the County Clinic will close its doors for the last time. The last fifteen years at the clinic have flown by. We hope that we have succeeded in our principal goal of providing our patients with a quality and caring clinical service. Bill will continue to see patients at clinics in
We will be embarking on our 19th year of meetings at the University of Northampton in January. The meetings are free and open to all and from 7-9pm in the evening. The Faculty of Sport and Exercise Medicine in Edinburgh examine the educational contents to award CPD points for clinical professionals. Refreshments and light snacks
Happy New Year to everybody.Bill is looking forward to visiting Sweden in early January to examine a PhD at the university of Uppsala. The institution is the oldest university in the Nordic countries. It will be nine years since Bill last visited it.Swedish PhD assessments are slightly different to the UK. The candidate’s oral defence
After 29 years providing orthopaedic advice and surgery and the last 12 years as its Chief Medical Officer, Bill has ‘declared his innings closed’ at Northamptonshire County Cricket. Bill regards it as both privilege and a blast to have looked after a sporting organisation he has supported all his life. He would like to thank
Welcome to the website of Professor Bill Ribbans, Consultant Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgeon and Professor of Sports Medicine.
The site provides information about Bill’s background, clinical practice, and professional, educational, and research interests.
Bill’s training is in the assessment and treatment of bone, joint and soft-tissue problems. He has undergone extensive training in medicine and surgery in general and Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery in particular. He has treated world champions from eight different sports and Olympians with 28 medals between them.
His work is divided principally between commitments to his clinical practice in Northampton and Milton Keynes, and academic commitments, particularly at the University of Northampton. Additionally, he has other part-time professional roles. He is the Chief Medical Officer for Luca Health, a company dedicated to the care of youngsters sustaining brain trauma in sport and Medical Director of Bloom Health based in Milton Keynes.
He works closely with a network of colleagues in sports medicine, orthopaedics, rheumatology, surgery, radiology, physiotherapy, and podiatry locally, nationally, and internationally, to try and provide for each patient optimal assessment, advice, and treatment of musculoskeletal conditions.
Bill was appointed as an Orthopaedic Consultant Surgeon in 1991 to the Royal Free Hospital in London. In 1996, he returned to his hometown to commence work at Northampton General Hospital.
In 2012, Bill entered full-time Private Practice having opened The County Clinic with his colleague, David Stock, in 2011.
In 2005, he was appointed Visiting Professor in Surgical Sciences to the University of Northampton and to a full personal Chair in Sports Medicine in 2010. Bill was Medical Director of the Chris Moody Rehabilitation Centre at Moulton College from its inception in 2012 until 2020.
Bill is also involved with a number of local and national sporting organisations. He has been Honorary Orthopaedic Surgeon to the English National Ballet, Northampton Saints and Northampton Town FC. He worked with Northamptonshire County Cricket for 29 years – the last 12 as their Chief Medical Officer. He has worked closely with England Rugby and British Athletics.
In 2021, Bill decided to stop undertaking surgery. However, he has continued with his out-patient clinics for orthopaedic and sports medicine problems. His clinics remain busy with many referrals for second opinions (from patients and colleagues) and with many patients travelling from all over the country.
Bill has been involved in medicolegal work since 1985. He provides assessments and advice for personal injury and medical negligence claims. He has given evidence in court in both Britain and Ireland.
Bill has published over 150 scientific articles, books, book chapters and theses. He has lectured in all five continents of the world. He is the author of Knife in the Fast Lane published in 2020 and A Plague on all our Sports in 2024. He undertakes a lot of media work, including television, radio, podcasts, and newspapers relating to matters of interest in the sporting sphere – especially around athlete welfare and health provision.
He joined Luca Health as their part-time Chief Medical Officer in 2025 and Bloom Health as their part-time Medical Director in 2026. Bill was a founder member of Progressive Rugby, a non-profit player welfare lobby group demanding better protection of rugby union players to ensure the long-term future of this great game.
Bill was a governor of Northampton School for Boys from 2019-2024 and a Trustee of Northampton School for Boys Trust from 2024.
