Leading primary care nurse has been appointed the co-chair of the NHS Alliance.
Heather Henry, previously the co vice chair of the NHS Alliance and an independent public health nurse, was appointed as co-chair today, following the departure of previous chair Michael Dixon.
Ms Henry will work alongside Dr Mark Spencer, a GP at Mount View Practice in Fleetwood Lancashire and new co-chair of NHS Alliance and Merron Simpson who has a background in housing will take on the role of chief executive.
Ms Henry says she is 'hugely excited to be leading the New NHS Alliance, supporting primary care as an enabler of change, rather than wholly focusing on what needs to be changed. It is great that the NHS Alliance has invited both a nurse and a GP to co-chair.'
'My personal passion is in connecting nurses across the system, especially those working closely with people in their communities. We need to promote not just the clinical value of nurses but also their social and economic value. Many nurses don't know how much they cost in terms of consultations and providing services so we are here to make them more aware of that,' Ms Henry added.
Dr Jonathan Serjeant, GP and clinical director at Brighton and Hove Integrated Care Services, continues as NHS Alliance's lead on Collaborate, a partnership initiative between NHS Alliance's Accelerate programme and the National Association of Primary Care's network of GP federations launched this year to support the vanguards and new models of care.