Meet the Team
The HI NENC team is made up of an Executive, a Core Team who provide central support, and Programme Managers who lead on our Health Improvement and Patient Safety Programmes.
Find out more about the members of our team below.
David Tate
FREED Project Lead
Talk to me about... The FREED Programme, Senior Eating Disorders
Email: [email protected]
Over the last 22 months, David has planned, developed and championed the implementation of FREED (First Episode Rapid Early Intervention for Eating Disorders) across TEWV NHS FT including establishing 2 children’s eating disorder teams and adults eating disorders team. To…
Hannah Spooner
Project Support Officer
Talk to me about... Project support for the Economic Growth team
Email: [email protected]
Hannah joined HI NENC in September 2023 as a Project Support Officer. Hannah completed her undergraduate Biomedical Sciences (Hons) degree at Northumbria University, before transferring to Newcastle University to earn her MSc in Medical Sciences. Since graduating, Hannah has worked…
Iain Taylor
Programmer Manager (Consultant)
Talk to me about... Medtech Funding Mandate Product, RUPs and Lynch Syndrome
Email: [email protected]
Iain is a consultant programme manager within the Economic Growth team. Iain holds a degree in Applied Chemistry with a Pharmaceutical Chemistry specialism. Prior to working with the AHSN, he has held senior roles within business management and development, project…
Gemma Todd
Project Support Officer
Talk to me about... PSC programme metrics, support for PSC and regional quality improvement network delivery.
Email: [email protected]
Gemma joined in December 2018 as a Project Support Officer to the Patient Safety Collaborative (PSC).Her remit is to provide professional support to the delivery of the PSC Programme and regional quality improvement network, working closely with Programme Leads, and…
Dr Rachel Turnbull
Programme Lead for Healthy Happy Places
Talk to me about... Mental health and the built environment
Email: [email protected]
Rachel works in healthcare innovation leading regional projects in the North East of England. Originally qualified as a clinician with a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology Rachel has developed more than 12 years’ experience in project management and service improvement roles…
Nikola Urli
Project Support Officer
Talk to me about... Support for the National Lipid and FH programme, Implementing novel therapies, Reporting metrics
Email: [email protected]
Nikola is a Project Manager for the National Lipid and FH Programme. His duties include liaising with numerous stakeholders, supporting all 15 HINs, collating reports, as well as ensuring productivity across the entire network. He is currently supporting the national…
Karen Verrill
Programme Manager
Talk to me about... Patient Safety, Identifying deterioration in care homes, Blood Pressure Optimisation
Email: [email protected]
Karen currently works on the Managing Deterioration programme is to reduce deterioration associated harm by improving the prevention, identification, escalation and response to physical deterioration. This involves working with key partners and stakeholders to promote better system co-ordination and develop…
Mark Walsh
Trusted Research and Evaluation Environment (TREE) Portfolio Manager
Talk to me about... TREs, Digital, Healthcare collaborations
Email: [email protected]
Mark is currently Portfolio Manager for the NENC ICS ‘Trusted Research and Evaluation Environment’ (TREE.) Previously he was Programme Manager for the Great North Care Record (GNCR), helping develop the initial concept and blueprint for delivery. Mark was Director of…
Emily Whales
National Programme Manager
Talk to me about... Polypharmacy, Opioid Reduction and Medicines Safety
Email: [email protected]
Emily is a Pharmacy Technician and has over 25 years’ work experience which spans both primary and secondary healthcare. She started her career in an Acute Hospital Trust before moving to work in primary care where she provided GP practice…
Emma Wharfe
Marketing and Communications Manager
Talk to me about... Communications, content marketing
Email: [email protected]
Emma has worked in Communications and Marketing for the last 10 years, previously working in roles in the NHS and third sector before joining the AHSN in November 2021. Emma provides communications advice and support for a range of projects…
Julia Wood
Maternity and Neonatal Safety Improvement Programme Lead for North East and North Cumbria
Talk to me about... Maternal and Neonatal Programme
Email: [email protected]
Optimisation and stabilisation of the preterm infant, Early recognition and management of deterioration of women and babies, Culture and quality improvement in maternity and neonatal settings