Professor Barbour was educated at Madras College, St Andrews and the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow where he gained a BA Joint Honours degree in politics, sociology and economics.

Having first worked in the NHS as a hospital porter he entered the Graduate Management Training Scheme in 1977 and subsequently worked in posts in Glasgow, at the Great Ormond Street Group of Hospitals in London, Manchester and Aberdeen. He was a first wave General Manager in 1986 and created Scotland's first NHS Trust in 1991. In 1994 he was invited to become Chief Executive of Central Manchester Healthcare NHS Trust and four years later joined Sheffield Health Authority as Chief Executive. Since August 2001 he has been Chief Executive of NHS Lothian.

He is a regular speaker at national conferences and has led work in Canada, Argentina and China.

Professor Barbour has a membership in Health Services Management, is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and has been a Burgess of the City of Aberdeen since 1992. He was awarded an OBE in 1992 for services to the NHS and in 2002 was awarded an honorary professorship in health policy from Queen Margaret University College, Edinburgh.