Professor Briggs qualified from The Royal London Hospital in 1982 with honors in surgery and a number of prizes.  After his senior registrar training he was appointed to the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital as Consultant in 1992.  His specialist interests are in orthopaedic oncology as well as surgery to the hip and knee.  He was Medical Director at the RNOH for 15 years, ensuring a re-build and was President of the British Orthopaedic Association in 2014.   
 
He was appointed as National Director for Clinical Quality and Efficiency for the NHS in September 2015 and has been asked to lead and roll out his GIRFT methodology, developed in orthopaedics, across all surgical and medical specialties within the provider network.   
 
Professor Briggs was made a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2018 New Year’s Honours List for services to the surgical profession. 
 
In January 2019 he was appointed as National Director for Clinical Improvement for NHSI/E.