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.

Donna Smith

Marketing and Communications Manager 

Talk to me about... Branding, Content, Case Studies
Email: [email protected]

Working within the Communications team at the AHSN NENC Donna’s focus is on branding and content for brochures and case studies.  As one of 15 AHSNs nationally and a multitude of local member organisations it is essential the core values…

Victoria Strassheim

Pain Workstream Project Lead 

Talk to me about... Pain Pathway
Email: [email protected]

Victoria Strassheim is a Clinical Academic physiotherapist, with over 25 years wide ranging clinical experience and a master’s in clinical research. She also works in a multi-disciplinary fatigue clinic for patients with long term health conditions. Victoria has worked in…

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…

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