I am a senior, research-active member of academic staff with an interest in primary care workforce education and role development. I have extensive expertise in primary care workforce education and development. My research profile in primary care is underpinned through the production of nationally significant evaluative research and partnership working with both the public sector and third sector organisations.

My research focuses upon three key areas of primary care:

• The development of new roles and new ways of working
• Models of workforce organisation 
• The impact of education and training on career development

I have a successful track record of securing funding from both NHS England and NIHR, and I am currently working on a SHU-led, 5-year, £4.4 million NIHR-funded project, which is looking at the organisation of the Primary Care workforce in areas of social deprivation.

I work extensively with colleagues throughout the South Yorkshire region, including the South Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (SY ICB), and I am the SHU lead for the partnership with the South Yorkshire Primary Care Education and Training hub. This strategic partnership has yielded a number of important projects and enables me to work with and support primary care colleagues within the region.  As part of the development of a primary care career pathway, we are currently co-delivering a national ‘introduction to primary care’ module, which is funded by NHS England.

I have developed a unique ‘boundary spanning’ role in primary care research, working with a range of partners and stakeholders across academia, workforce education, and training. This is demonstrated through a track record of income generation, academic leadership, and collaborative working.

My academic expertise is based upon supporting, developing, and educating the primary care workforce, in line with SHU’s Future Strategies programme and the Health Transformation agenda. As such, I work with strategic partners to ensure connectivity between SHU and national organisations such as Skills for Health and NHS England. My work has identified that any graduate workforce ‘pipeline’ into primary care needs to start with UG students.

My significant portfolio of partnership working in primary care is part of a wider national programme to develop and support a sustainable primary care workforce. The quality and importance of my work have resulted in regular, repeated, commissions to undertake research and consultancy work. Most recently, I have been working with Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust as a consultant to develop an evaluation of their pioneering Hospital at Home service.

I am currently working with Sheffield Integrated Care Board, Sheffield City Council, and Skills for Care on the development of Delegated Health Care Activities for domiciliary and care home staff working in South Yorkshire. My time on this cutting edge project is funded (£18,000) through the South Yorkshire Innovation Programme.

In addition to these current activities, my recent portfolio of work includes:

1) The development and evaluation (2022-date) of a regional Primary Care Innovation Centre (£35,000) funded by NHS England Workforce training and Education (NHSE WTE). I work in partnership with the South Yorkshire Primary Care Workforce and Training hub. This ‘cutting edge’ project represents a significant investment in primary care education by the NHS England Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) group. It will provide primary care staff with access to much-needed education and training. It supports the development and evaluation of new roles in primary care, to ensure that primary care is fit for purpose.

2) A training needs analysis of the social care workforce (£11,000) for Cambridgeshire County Council (2024)

3) An evaluation (2020) of the South Yorkshire training programme for GP nurses (£19,000). The study resulted in an article for BMC Primary Care and led to a successful commission to provide a national programme for NHS England introducing students to General Practice. The commission is worth ~150K per annum to SHU.

ORCID ID: 0000-0003-2134-506X

I currently have 61 publications, consisting of 31 journal articles, 3 conference papers, 10reports for various funding bodies, and 11 internet-based articles for the Conversation and other online media. My publications provide clear evidence of a high-quality, high-impact track record of academic activity.

My publications and reports have both reach and impact; I have published a number of 2/3* papers which are influencing the way in which education for the primary care workforce is organised nationally. This is evidenced through an h-index of 7, an excellent citation record (one paper cited >170 times), and regular invitations to speak at conferences both regionally, nationally, and internationally.