New GP lead for North East Ambulance Service’s emergency operations centre

The role will have oversight and development of clinical services in the clinical assessment service (CAS). The CAS provides additional telephone triage to some of the 1.4 million patients we speak to every year across 111 and 999, to improve their journey and ensure they’re directed to the service which best meets their needs, if they don’t require an ambulance.  

Suzy joins the role part-time, while also working as a GP at a practice in Blyth, Northumberland and having previously been a GP trainer in the region. She comes with a wealth of experience from a 25-year career working in various healthcare settings in both the UK and Canada with diverse socio-economic and cultural groups of all ages as well as teaching and training roles.

Suzy said: “I have experience caring for patients from "cradle to grave," including the transport of critically ill neonates and infants, as well as those in psychiatric inpatient settings and vulnerable individuals detained in custody.

“As a working GP, I value both the one-on-one interactions with patients and the challenges of leading teams and engaging with the wider groups of healthcare
professionals, all of whom are vital to provide the best clinical care to our patients.”

Dr Kat Noble, executive medical director, said: “We are so delighted to welcome Suzy to the role of GP lead. There is a strength in NEAS being a multidisciplinary team and we need to engage and support our doctors in the most effective way possible.

“We speak to almost 38,000 patients a year over the phone who don’t require an ambulance or need a hospital stay and having Suzy in her roles means patients will receive more appropriate clinical contact and help reduce the unnecessary referrals into the wider healthcare system in the region.”