Born in Dublin, Dr Byrne graduated in medicine from University College Dublin in 1994 before serving for six years as a doctor in the Royal Army Medical Corps, where he completed his training in general practice. In 2002 he became a partner at a GP surgery in Hampshire, and in 2008 was appointed locality medical director for Hampshire Community Healthcare.
Three years later, Dr Byrne became clinical director for integrated care at Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust and then clinical director and accountable officer for the Southampton and West Hampshire Division in 2012.
In 2014, he became general practice regional adviser for the Care Quality Commission’s (CQC) primary medical services team, also working part-time with NHS Elect advising NHS trusts on clinical strategy.
In 2017, John was appointed as executive medical director at Humber NHS Foundation Trust, a provider of mental health, community and primary care services, and was the responsible officer and executive lead for quality improvement. During his tenure, the Trust saw its CQC rating improve to good and was awarded the HSJ provider of the year award in 2019. During the Covid-19 pandemic, John was the trust’s lead for testing and delivering vaccinations to health and care staff and local citizens.
In 2019 he became the senior responsible officer for the Yorkshire and Humber Care Record, one of the leading exemplars for a national program to roll out a shared care record across health and social care and develop a population health management tool.
Dr Byrne completed a master’s degree in Quality Improvement at Ashridge Business School in 2014 and is a Health Foundation GenQ leadership fellow.