A NORTH East hospital has demonstrated its commitment to working more closely with local doctors’ surgeries by creating a new role of GP liaison manager.
Nuffield Health Newcastle Hospital has appointed Beth Brook to the new position with the aim of building links with more GP practices in the region and increasing the number of referrals from GPs to the hospital.
Beth joins Nuffield Health following a 15-year sales career within the hospitality industry which saw her working at a number of luxury hotels, including most recently Malmaison, Newcastle.
Her role will focus on raising awareness among local GPs of the services Nuffield Health Newcastle Hospital offers and the referral process so that doctors can inform their patients of the options available to them.
Beth said: “My role will be very much about relationship building, bridging the gap between GP surgeries and the hospital and also explaining more about the services we provide and how the referral system works.
“Many GPs and practice managers may not be aware of the variety of procedures we offer and their patients may not realise that they do not have to be covered by private health insurance to be treated at Nuffield Health Newcastle Hospital.
“It will be a challenge but one I am looking forward to and I can’t wait to get out and about meeting GPs from across the North East.”
Originally from Newcastle, Beth studied Theatre and Media at Newcastle Polytechnic before working as a stage manager for Northern Ballet in Leeds, where she managed the dance company’s national tours.
She then joined the sales team at the Radisson Blu hotel in Leeds before moving to independent luxury hotel Quebecs, also in Leeds. From there she was headhunted to help establish Dakota hotels in Edinburgh and Glasgow before taking up the position of sales manager at the Malmaison on Newcastle’s quayside in 2009.
She will be based from Nuffield Health Newcastle Hospital’s Jesmond headquarters but will also spend a large proportion of her time travelling to GP practices across the region.
Beth said: “We have several key GP practices in the region which are already referring patients to us on a regular basis and my first task will be to identify why these are working well and try and replicate that success with other surgeries.
“Part of the challenge is understanding the needs of individual practices and explaining the benefits of working with Nuffield Health, both for patients and the practices.
“We have a self-pay system which means patients can choose to come to us for a one-off procedure and with a back-log for some procedures on the NHS this provides another option for patients to consider.”
Speaking about Beth’s appointment, Nuffield Health Newcastle Hospital sales and services manager Chris Land said: “Referrals from GPs is an area we aim to expand on this year and the creation of the GP liaison manger role is a key part of this strategy.
“Beth has fantastic communication skills which will be vital to this role, as well as a strong sales background and great knowledge of the region and we are sure she will be a great addition to the team at Nuffield Health Newcastle Hospital.”
Beth will be working with GP practices across Newcastle, Gateshead, North Tyneside and Northumberland.