Dr Wallace studied Immunology and Medicine at the University of Glasgow and later gained an MBA from Strathclyde Graduate Business School. He practised as a GP Principal for 10 years before being appointed Medical Director of Greater Glasgow Primary Care Trust in 1999. In 2005 he became the Associate Medical Director for the Women and Children’s Directorate in Greater Glasgow and Clyde and for a time combined this role with being interim Medical Director of NHS Quality Improvement Scotland. He was appointed as Medical Director of NHS Forth Valley in 2010 before moving to the same role in NHS Lanarkshire in June 2013. During his time in Lanarkshire, Dr Wallace led a successful quality improvement initiative to address higher than predicted Hospital Standardised Mortality Ratios in two of the Board’s acute sites.
Following his retirement in October 2018, Dr Wallace took up post as Medical Advisor to the West of Scotland Regional Planning Team where he is involved in establishing a Major Trauma Centre at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow. He is also leading the re-design of urology services and developing a strategy for adult specialist cardiac services in the region. In late March 2020, as Medical Director, NHS Louisa Jordan, Dr Wallace helped set up a temporary hospital to accommodate excess demand for hospital beds resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr Wallace is also an executive coach with most of his clients working in senior roles within the NHS in Scotland.
Dr Wallace has been chair of the Scottish Association of Medical Directors and was interim chair of the Faculty of Medical Leadership and Management for a year while it transitioned to independent charity status. He is also an Honorary Professor in the School of Health and Life Sciences, Glasgow Caledonian University and an Honorary Clinical Associate Professor in the College of Medicine, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow.