Before joining PGPA, I worked at The Christie Hospital in Manchester, most recently managing junior doctor recruitment for the surgery department. My path there was varied. After graduating with a First in Music in 2015, I spent several years in a band, gigging around Manchester while working in hospitality, before moving into admin at a claims management company, where I was quickly promoted to team leader, and then into a database coordinator role at Henshaws, a charity for blind people.
At The Christie, I started as a data administrator in Critical Care before moving into managing the Covid testing team, and later into surgical recruitment.
I moved to PGPA largely because I wanted to relocate to Hebden Bridge for a quieter pace of life. The digital transformation role stood out because, looking back across every job I’d had, I’d always gravitated towards the technical side, whether that was building an Outlook macro to bulk-communicate with Covid-positive patients during the Omicron wave at the end of 2021, or picking up music software quickly during my music degree.
I joined PGPA alongside Luke Dalby, and early on we were largely figuring out where digital transformation fit within the Calderdale GP ecosystem. Our first projects were data-focused: reporting on GP activity, like the frequent attenders pilot, and long-term conditions work, mostly geared towards helping PCNs and practices hit targets like IIF and capacity and access.
It was a steep learning curve, as I didn’t have a formal IT or digital background, and managing people’s perception of the role – many assumed I was “just IT”, and still do! – has been an ongoing challenge.
The biggest shift came when Luke left in early 2025. I went from joint responsibility to basically being wholly accountable for digital transformation at PGPA. I wrote and led the 2025-26 strategy, which changed how I saw the role entirely. I became more of a decision-maker, using my own judgement and experience rather than being led primarily by PCN priorities.
Honestly, taking on new responsibilities has come down to seeing opportunities and taking them. I think we can all say from experience that primary care isn’t in a great state, and my drive genuinely comes from the fact that my role and skills give me the power to help change that for the better. PGPA gave me the freedom to expand my responsibilities, and I took it because I wanted to drive that change, which to me is what transformation should be about.
I’m really grateful that my manager Joanne Duffy gave me the time early on to properly learn SystmOne and EMIS and explore what primary care data could tell us, rather than putting me on IT support duties.
Probably the biggest opportunity, though, was visiting GP practices directly. What started as a fleeting idea to do some ‘shadowing’ has continued throughout my time at PGPA. Getting out of the office to speak with practice managers has taught me as much as I’ve been able to offer them, and has shaped genuinely creative work, from time-saving protocols around QOF data capture and Friends and Family Test collection, to NHS App training that was much richer for being grounded in real conversations with staff and patients.
PGPA also funded a Power BI course, which let me build telephony and demand-and-supply dashboards that practices and PCNs get a lot from, and which have significantly sped up how I report on activity.
Technically, I’ve built up real expertise in clinical system reporting, statistics and project management, largely through delivering the 2025-26 strategy. I’ve also developed as a public speaker, presenting at events and even a podcast, which isn’t something I’d have predicted when I started.
Skills I already had, like problem-solving and communication, have sharpened considerably too. Through practice visits, I’ve learned the value of being proactive and offering support before it’s asked for, rather than waiting to be approached.
I started the role with a real sense of imposter syndrome, but after three-plus years I feel I genuinely know my subject now, and that knowledge is where my confidence comes from. That said, it’s still a work in progress. I can be reluctant to push back or share my thinking with more senior colleagues who seem certain of their own approach, and I still find it hard to say no to requests, which I think comes from wanting to prove myself rather than confidently prioritising.
The most consistent challenge has been the limitations of the systems and structures I work within: unreliable clinical coding, difficulty triangulating data with partners like the ICB and Public Health, and awkward specifics like reporting on slot types and across multi-staff teams. A lot of the job is finding workarounds. I also recognise a tendency to overpromise before realising things aren’t possible.
The sharpest challenge was Luke leaving in January 2025. By March, with a much bigger workload and a lot to deliver before year-end, I was genuinely stressed. Presenting at the clinical PLT event in October 2025 was another big step outside my comfort zone. I’d presented online plenty of times, but doing so in person in front of 100+ clinical staff felt very different, and I was more nervous than people probably realised. It went well, though, and I took it in my stride. Getting buy-in remains an ongoing challenge too: my monthly digital champions meeting gets glowing feedback from attendees but consistently low turnout, and communicating the value of transformation work to busy, sometimes sceptical colleagues is a constant task.
I’ve been lucky to have good support around me while developing my role. My manager, Joanne Duffy, has been brilliant. She’s hands-off in the best sense, giving people room to explore, be creative and try new things rather than micromanaging. Holly our Head of Communications has also opened up public speaking opportunities I wouldn’t have sought out myself, including training Calderdale VAC’s community ambassadors, a podcast appearance about the NHS App and speaking at two PLT events. Ironically, my difficulty saying no has worked in my favour here, pushing me outside my comfort zone in ways that have genuinely helped me grow.
Will Menzies our CEO and Farzana our Head of Finance have also supported my development practically, covering training costs including my Power BI course and, more recently, clinical safety training. PGPA’s willingness to invest in staff development is something I’d encourage every colleague to make the most of.
Looking back, I’m proud that I can point to real, tangible impact. For the last two years, practice and PCN survey feedback on my support has consistently scored around 4.8 out of 5.
I’ve genuinely saved practices time and money through things like the pathology auto-review tool, document management rules, protocols, templates, message presets, clinical system alerts, dashboards, NHS App training, and software recommendations to boost income or cut telephone and document demand.
Knowing my role has had a real impact on the system, and that I go home having made a difference, is exactly what I wanted from a job.
I don’t think about career progression much as a goal in itself; it’s not really why I do what I do. I see it more as a natural consequence of taking on responsibilities and opportunities as they arise, like how people often end up promoted into roles they were effectively already doing.
I don’t think organisations should force it, but they should create the right conditions for it, a bit like a garden: get the soil right, and the plant grows on its own (an analogy I can’t take credit for – I saw it on a poster in a GP practice).
For anyone considering taking on a new challenge or looking for opportunities to develop, I’d say listen to the people you work with and take time to learn about your own role and other ways of doing it. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, learn from others doing similar jobs and see how they approach things.
I know I’ve been fortunate – digital is a real focus area in the NHS right now, so opportunities have come my way more readily. But whatever role you’re in, doing your research, learning about your sector and staying on top of relevant policy or legislation will naturally lead to more opportunities and more trust from those around you.
And what do I like most about working for PGPA? The people, without question.
We’re a genuinely lovely team, drawn from all kinds of backgrounds, with a strong shared work ethic, and that’s true of the wider practice teams too, not just PGPA itself. It’s the best team I’ve ever worked with, and it’s the main reason I’ve stayed as long as I have.
We all want the best for patients, and we know how to have fun without ever being disrespectful about it.
Read more about Digital Transformation at PGPA here.