Current Profiles (2007 intake) - Finance Management

Eniola Taiwo
I joined the NHS in 2007, attracted by the opportunity to give back to the community. So far I have been very impressed because every day brings something new and different. The NHS being such a large and changing organisation provides many opportunities for people to progress in a short space of time and you are provided with the tools to do so.


The scheme invests so much in trainees (the training weeks away, the action learning set groups and even the social events) it’s virtually impossible not be well equipped for senior management positions at the end of it all.

Right now, I’m finishing up a placement in Financial Accounting where I got involved in the preparation of the year end accounts, negotiating deals on goods and services and liaising with other NHS organisations to agree balances. I’m looking forward to my next placement in Management Accounting.

One of my highlights was being asked to be a member of the Selection Panel of four to interview and select from a sea of companies wanting to provide two of the Trust’s core services.

Over the next five years, I’m aiming to get to Director level in my chosen organisation and I’m confident that I’ve gained enough experience to turn around a Trust in deficit to a Foundation trust.


Michael Kelly

I chose to apply for the NHS because I felt that, although I wanted to go into finance, I also wanted to gain leadership experience that would allow me to take on managerial roles. The training offered is exemplary and being supported and funded through a professional qualification, CIMA, is invaluable. And, of course, the experience of working in the third largest organisation in the world offers unique challenges and experiences and the opportunities vary so widely that there are no restrictions on where you can drive your career.

I’m just starting a new role in Business Development as Finance Manager, supporting the Local Delivery Plan in the PCT. In just 9 months, I’ve progressed well through the first stage of the examinations to becoming a Qualified Management Accountant and am now well into the next phase of my development. I’m hoping that my biggest achievement will be to streamline the LDP Process to improve the efficiency with which the Trust implements and drives forward new initiatives, and also monitor these on an ongoing basis to ensure the best possible delivery of schemes on time and on budget.

After I make the most of what the scheme has to offer and becoming a qualified Chartered Accountant, I’d like to go into a management role which will help me develop before I take on an Assistant Director role with a view to gaining the experience I need to be a Director and hopefully eventually a Chief Executive. I would like to work in an the Acute sector at some point to gain experience in a more dynamic environment but feel that PCT’s are the driving force behind the future of healthcare provision and in the long term, I’d like to be a part of the development of the NHS from a strategic perspective.


Simon Norbury

I was completely new to the NHS, having previously working in finance for large private companies. Everyone says you’re looked after with the NHS and this has proved to be very true, from the help you get with studying to the helpful attitudes of people in the places of work. I was also attracted by the nature of the work, and the opportunities to see things that I never knew existed.


I’m in Financial Services, helping administer tax and carrying out year end tasks to support the annual accounts.

As the scheme is led by you, there’s honestly no normal day - unless you want it! So today I’ve been reviewing next year’s capital development with one of the directorate accountants. Previously I’ve been responsible for compiling board reports (monthly) on the amount the Trust spends on agency, overtime and bank staff and monitoring the trusts current account. I’ve also improved the reporting on Trust vehicles, providing a clear view of all the relevant information. And I’ve raised the profile of the charities trust fund and hopefully got people in hospitals to make an effort to spend a hugely under utilised fund, for the benefit of staff and patients.

I aim to be an accountant in a position where I can make a difference – which is entirely achievable here. So firstly I need to pass my exams and gain the necessary experience essential to a higher level post. I’m also interested in seeing different aspects of the NHS, so I’d like to have gained experience across the range of services offered.

Current Profiles (2007 intake) - General Management Specialism

Arwel Williams

I’d always wanted to work in the public sector and chose the NHS scheme over other public sector grad schemes for a few reasons. Firstly, I could choose the region where I wanted to work. Secondly, the remuneration offered was better than many others and I could also do a post-graduate qualification. The biggest attraction was the importance of the service – I didn’t want a job where I was working just to make someone else richer.

Right now, I’m a Service Delivery Manager in an Acute Trust, working across General Medicine and Critical Care. I’m involved in all aspects of managing a service, from writing business cases through recruiting staff to deputising for senior managers. My biggest achievement so far has been my involvement in a project to streamline stock ordering on a particular ward. Aimed at creating cost savings, the project created a leaner ordering system and also helped to improve service: this more efficient system has helped to release more time for staff to spend with patients. In terms of cost, to date we have already saved in excess of £125,000.

I was really thrown in at the deep end, and just gaining the skills needed to do this job well in such a short space of time has been a real achievement. However, once you have the skills and knowledge, you’ve also got the confidence to start working more independently.

I very much see my future being in the NHS, as there are so many opportunities.


Liz McAndrew

After graduating, I joined the NHS as a junior Physiotherapist, and then moved on to the post of Senior Musculoskeletal Physiotherapist working in GP practices. I then became a Senior Physiotherapist back in the acute hospital setting in 2006.

I decided to join the NHS graduate management scheme as I had aspirations to move into leadership, and this provided the platform on which to make a fast transition from clinical work to managerial work. Currently, I’m working at North Middlesex Hospital as Service Manager for General Surgery.

I’m responsible for the day-to-day running of the general surgery service, including waiting list management for inpatients and outpatients, outpatient clinic running and ensuring we achieve the 18-week target. I also write business cases for this service, facilitating changes and improving efficiency.

Highlights include writing a business case for £300,000 pounds for a fully integrated laparoscopic surgery suits for the hospitals new PFI, which involved vast amounts of external and internal networking. I’ve also written a business case for a Rheumatology Clinical Nurse Specialist, facilitated the development of a new vascular surgery pathway and organised a GP study day on vascular condition management. I’ve also ensured that the General Surgery Service continues to be compliant with the Department of Health’s 18 week RTT target.

I hope to complete my MSc after finishing the graduate scheme, and progress into a senior management role. Currently I am undecided if this will have an operational or strategic focus, and I am hoping the next 12 months will clarify this for me.


Jenny Palmer

I wanted to work for the NHS for two reasons. Firstly, I’d worked in the private sector for three years, so I wanted a “business” job working with a variety of people with lots of interesting opportunities and real work that would challenge me. Secondly, having also studied Psychology at undergrad and masters level I felt very passionate about wanting a career in healthcare. I researched different career options and graduate schemes and the NHS Management Training Scheme stood out as it seemed to fit my aspirations perfectly.

My current job on the scheme is quite unique in the respect that I work as a Project Manager working in the 2012 London Olympic Games planning team. My role is very varied and has given me lots of new experiences and skills. I am solely managing a project on the training requirements for all staff for the Olympics. As this is a strategic role it is very different from my other operational placements, but it’s a really interesting role to be in as planning for an event on the scale of the Olympics is something we have never done before.

Before the management scheme I would have never thought I could manage a large budget, manage a team of people or deliver large projects but now I have the attitude that the bigger challenge the better!

I’m just about to start a new operational job which I am really excited about. At the moment this is my main focus but thinking in the long term I would ideally like to be in a senior position in the acute sector, but if something else comes along I could be doing something completely different! The great thing about the NHS is that there are so many new and exciting opportunities that come up.


Kathryn Lennon


I found out about the NHS Graduate Management Scheme through The Times Top 100 Graduate Employers; the NHS has consistently been placed in the top 10 and this is what initially attracted me to the scheme. When I found out more about the scheme, it was the opportunity to study for a Post Graduate Diploma and post-graduate qualification that persuaded me to apply – along with the other forms of learning - Experiential Learning and Action Learning. I was also keen to take on responsibilities and to have my own role, which the scheme offers.

I am currently working as Associate General Manager for Medicine. I've already organised an event in Diabetes for a range of stakeholders, which raised the issue of service redesign to the local Primary Care Trust, and I've produced a document to guide the future strategy for the Diabetes and Endocrinology specialties in the Trust. The work involved meeting with the Consultants and other clinicians in the department to get an idea of what worked well in their service and what needed to be improved. The information I gathered will be used to guide new business cases for the coming year.

I’d like to achieve a merit in my Postgraduate Diploma in Health Management and Public Leadership, then find a management job and convert my Diploma into a Masters. I haven’t yet decided which part of the NHS I would like to work in, but I’ve enjoyed working in an Acute Trust and I’m looking forward to working at an advertising agency during my flexi-placement before my final placement at a Primary Care Trust. My aim is to gain as much experience of the NHS as possible so that I have a wide range of options in the future.


Kelly Driver

I was a student nurse during my degree and the gastroenterology qualification involved achieving practical competence to be a nurse specialist in this field. Nursing is something that I had always wanted to do as a child.

Currently I am working within the Corporate Governance Department, which plays an integral role in the smooth running of the Trust’s business activities, providing advice and guidance as well as administrative support at all meetings of the Trust Board, Committees and Sub-Committees. I also undertake project work under the guidance of individual Directors, which might involve reviewing an aspect of the service and making recommendations to the Executive Team on how this service may be improved upon.

In recent months, I’ve been focusing on the implementation of the Trust’s Public Health Strategy. I’ve met with lots of staff throughout the Trust to get a good understanding of the valuable work that they do, ensure that their achievements are acknowledged by the Board and identify local initiatives that could be expanded to the benefit of the population throughout the North West. I’ve also notably had a feature article published in the July 2006 edition of Cancer Nursing Practice and was quite proud of becoming a Ward Sister as this is a role I aspired to upon qualification.

I thought getting on the scheme was an achievement in itself. But I’ve had a few more since then. I’ve now got the confidence to work with Directors and present my work to them - something I would have thought impossible prior to joining the scheme.

Where do I see myself in the future? Working as an Operational Manager of an Acute NHS Trust. I want to make a difference in improving the experiences that our patients have by using both my clinical and general management experiences. As a nurse you can make a big difference to the lives of a few people, though I feel that management offers the opportunity to make a difference on a much larger scale.


Lucy Connor

I had worked at a few different hospitals before as a healthcare assistant in the university holidays and my interest in health issues attracted me to the NHS. I decided to join the management training scheme because it allowed me to work in an area of healthcare that I enjoyed and where I knew I could make a difference.

I mainly manage the day-to-day running of the Orthotics department and its staff. I’m the budget holder for the department so I assist with financial management, and I’m heavily involved with the service improvement within the department and the more strategic issues. I’ve written the department’s business plan for the next few years and have carried out work around several future developments such as the introduction of GP direct access. Perhaps most impressively, I’ve reduced the waiting list from a total wait of 22 weeks down to 7 weeks.

The Orthotic Service and products are both out to tender at present. I had responsibility for the production of specifications for both and I am coordinating the process including evaluation of the tenders.

I have an interest in public health and want to gain experience in this field before ultimately deciding which area I would like to work in. In the next 5 years I hope to become a respected manager working towards a director level post.


Lyndsey Barber

I chose to do a degree in Occupational Therapist because I liked the idea of helping people to keep or gain their independence, and most of this kind of work is in the NHS. I have worked for other organisations, but working in the NHS has allowed my access to an unrivalled range of experience. I saw the scheme as an ideal way to further develop my career and as a good opportunity to challenge myself. I thought that my clinical background would be a good basis to start my management career.

I’m currently working as the Assistant Service Manager for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), which provides specialist Mental Health Services to children and young people up to the age of 18. I manage 34 admin and clerical staff and I’ve also been responsible for a number of other projects, including a £300,000 refurbishment and development of our inpatient unit to include a 2-bedded high dependency annexe. Another piece of work I’ve been involved in has been the development of a tool that captures the activity (including outreach work) done by the inpatient unit, which was challenging as it required something compatible with the activity recording in the acute hospital which is part of the same trust.

I have arranged my flexi-placement to get some private-sector management experience. Having always worked for the NHS, I’d like to see what the differences are and what I can bring back to the NHS. For my final placement, I’m going to Western Cheshire PCT where I’m hoping to get some experience in commissioning. I haven’t yet decided what kind of management position I’m aiming for; I’m waiting to get more knowledge of working in a PCT before making that decision.


Nikkie Foster

After doing a degree which revolved around healthcare, and briefly running a hotel in my gap year, I wanted to carry on helping people get better healthcare and use my business skills and this scheme was perfect for that. The NHS is traditionally know for its great work-life balance, staff support such as flexi time and good annual leave as well as a good pension. As such a huge organisation, there are such a variety of roles that you can do which for me made it exciting.

I am currently working as a project manager in public involvement and engagement for a Primary Care Trust in the North West. I have spent the last 6 months developing and implementing a strategic action plan which will help strengthen the engagement function within the PCT and support staff to engage better with their patients. I am also a project support officer for the Strategic Commissioning Plan which is the PCT’s major piece of work over the next year and I have just taken on the responsibility of running a project to review green travel within the PCT.

When I first found out about my role for this placement it all sounded pretty hard and I wasn’t sure I could do it. But 9 months later I’m not only really enjoying it, I’m actually quite good at it! I’ve got the confidence I need to be a project manager, presenting in front of over 100 managers in the PCT about my project! I’ve also set up a working group with members from various departments which will look at best practice ways of engaging with our stakeholders, advised some senior managers on good project management techniques and produced a step-by-step toolkit for staff on engaging well with their patients.


Yvonne Gruendler

I had never worked in the NHS before, but I completely believe in NHS values. In my current placement I have the title of Assistant Business Manager, responsible for performance and business of services within one borough with the Trust. This includes monitoring achievement of our target activity levels, and working with IT and finance to ensure the PCT reports and reference costs are correct. I also line manage the Welfare Office manager and the Senior Medical Secretary."

One of the achievements I’m most proud of has been to open communication channels between IT and front-line clinicians. By translating what the ‘other side’ is saying into language that is understood more easily, and bringing the two sides together, we’ve been able to work together more effectively.

Another achievement I’m proud of is giving trainees a voice in the IHM (Institute of Healthcare Management) by joining the London Regional Council. Despite being members of the IHM, we don’t seem to interact much as a group, and I am working towards having greater trainee involvement, for example through finding mentors through IHM and developing a ‘student writer of the year award’.

I think as long as I’m challenged and continuously learning, I’ll have found what I’m looking for. So hopefully, in 5 years, I’ll be in a challenging role that keeps me on my toes, and teaches me something new every day.

Current Profiles (2007 intake) - Informatics Management Specialism

Richard Houghton 

Following my studies, I chose to take a three month sabbatical before working for a temping agency, and I was lucky to be given the kind of roles where I could build working relationships with various NHS staff. I got my first NHS contract while working for a family health clinic. The clinic received an internal fax from the local primary care trust (PCT) advertising for a primary care information facilitator and, having been fully supported and encouraged to apply, the rest as they say is history.

I am currently working through a programme of specific roles within different directorates of a PCT to build on my Informatics background and supplement it with an understanding of how other roles use and require health informatics to deliver advanced commissioning. I am based within the strategy directorate, planning and managing practice based commissioning (PBC) projects. My work includes working collaboratively with members of the PBC team to ensure a framework is developed to support future commissioning intentions and to enable the management of consortia business plans against local, strategic and national objectives. I’m also responsible for ensuring that the plans of the Strategy Team are met by enabling analytical support and joint working with the PCT Performance Team.

One of the highlights of my NHS career has been as a member of several chronic disease “champions” groups, specialising in chronic heart disease, diabetes and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The model of the group and the outcomes delivered were such that, at the HSJ 2006 annual awards, we won the Chronic Disease Management Award and the overall Secretary of State’s award for Excellence in Healthcare Management. And also, the scheme has been a highlight as it puts me in a position to influence the delivery of health informatics management in the modern NHS.

I have high expectations of myself as I want and expect health informatics management to be the key stone to support all future NHS work. In the long term I would hope to be leading the future NHS through advancements in informatics management, knowledge sharing and access. The short term challenge is to position myself in such a way that I can influence and affect current thinking, practices and processes.

Tom Logan 

I joined the scheme straight from University, mainly because I had made a conscious decision to follow in both my parent’s footsteps and work in the public sector. What attracted me specifically to the NHS was its ability to affect everyone in the county in a profound way and the clearly tangible benefits of service improvement.

My decision to join the informatics management scheme was mainly down to circumstance but I am more than happy to have joined a new and exciting scheme in an arena of healthcare management that is rapidly growing in importance and visibility.

I’m currently a data quality officer, working to ensure all practices support the accurate and consistent recording and flow of data. At the end of this placement, I’ll have produced a framework and put all the relevant measures and procedures in place to ensure good data quality and which will eventually form part of a service level agreement with our partners.

My very first challenge was getting my head around how the NHS is organised and how information flows to support this complex organisation. Working in information, you can’t afford to view anything in isolation, so an understanding of the relationships between different organisations is vital to help improve the use of information in the NHS. Gaining this knowledge has been key to enabling me to do constructive work, so I consider it a big achievement.

After I finish the scheme I hope to take a ‘sidestep’ into more operational management but in a role where I can use my experience in informatics management to directly improve clinical outcomes. Being at the start of my career, I expect the next five years to have a big impact on the path that I choose, and so I’m determined to gain a broad range of experience and make the most of any opportunities that come my way.

Beyond the next five years I hope to have a long, enjoyable career making a positive contribution to the NHS!

Radhika Rangaraju

I joined the scheme in October 2008, motivated by the opportunity to get involved in the IT and various software projects currently being implemented in NHS through NpFit and Connecting for Health. I wanted to use the skills and knowledge I gained through my masters and the scheme appeared to provide the opportunities.

I am currently placed with ‘North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust’ as a Junior Business Analyst. I work alongside two Senior Business Analysts assisting them in various projects and reports. I’m also responsible for a few projects right from seeking approval from the Programme Board to Benefits realisation. I also share Data Quality, Information Governance, Policy Documentation, Database Warehousing and Reporting responsibilities with my other colleagues.

I started my Masters Thesis alongside my first placement and it was extremely challenging juggling both these demanding roles, so I’m very proud that I scored a ‘Distinction’. I am also very pleased that a Business Proposal I wrote about developing a Children’s Website creating awareness about First Aid and Ambulance Services has been approved for further development. My proposal was appreciated at Executive and Non Executive Directorial level which gave me a big boost. I also successfully managed a pilot Capacity Management project between the Ambulance Trust and an Acute Trust. It was a great experience which taught me a lot about various technical and people issues in NHS with regards to growing demand on services. I’ve also written – and had approved - two policies; Safe Havens Policy and Data Quality Policy.

I’m still unsure about my future direction as I’m still exploring all business aspects of the NHS and I haven’t yet decided on a particular career pathway. However, my interests currently lie in Commissioning, Information Management, IT Procurement and IT Project Management.

Whichever stream I choose, in next five years I hope to be in a Senior Position where I can make a significant contribution to the trust I would be working for and above all to the overall health and satisfaction of the patients.

Olivia Taylor

I joined the NHS Graduate Scheme in October 2007 after studying Psychology at the University of Manchester. Although I enjoyed my degree and the psychology-related work experience I did whilst at university, the opportunities available with the NHS seemed too good to pass up – the chance to help people and give something back to society were really important to me. After meeting people already on the Graduate Scheme, I was struck by the variety of jobs they do, and thought this would be a career that would really stretch me. In particular, the Informatics stream appealed to me because it’s such a rapidly expanding area of the organisation, and I wanted to be part of that.

At the moment I’m based in the Information department, working primarily in the area of mental health. One really important and challenging piece of work I’m doing is a suicide audit for the PCT, which will lead to the development of initiatives to reduce the number of suicides in Liverpool.

There are various avenues I’d like to explore once I finish the scheme, such as project management or service improvement.  I’m keen to be involved in a job where I can see clear outcomes from the work I’ve done – if I start a piece of work, I like to see it all the way through. There are so many possibilities working for such a big organisation.

Current Profiles (2007 intake) - HR Management Specialism

Helen Raggett 

I joined the NHS graduate scheme in September 2007, attracted by the diversity of staff groups, professions that I would be working with and the vast range of organisations under the NHS which help support our healthcare system, which is one of the best in the world.

I am currently working as the HR Officer for Diagnostics pan-trust. It is one of the biggest Trusts in country with approximately 7500 staff across 4 main hospital sites. I’m responsible for all general HR enquiries from employees and supporting managers to ensure that policies are understood and complied with.

In terms of notable achievements, I’ve already successfully organised and managed a recruitment open day for Healthcare Support Workers which over 100 people attended. I also conducted a pilot project to encourage the recruitment team to use email invitation to interview for administrative staff which is going well so far. And I’ve grown in knowledge and confidence, which is clear when I’m holding meetings with managers. I also chaired my first formal meeting to discuss redeployment options for an employee who has been on long term sick which I felt was a big achievement.

Academically, I achieved 90% for my first CIPD assignment which I feel is a big accomplishment after having not written an academic piece of work for 4 years.

At the end of the scheme, I’d like to become a knowledgeable HR professional with the confidence to take my HR career towards becoming an Assistant HR director or a specialist in either HR strategy or workforce development.

Rachel Forber 

The graduate scheme is my first full time job and I was attracted by the caring nature of the NHS, the excellent reputation of the graduate scheme and its high rating in the Times Top 100 (HR is rated number 5).

I am on the HR specialism of the scheme, so I am currently working as a HR Advisor for a large acute Trust. I have my own areas for which I am responsible and am also given lots of project work to develop my skills.

Since joining the NHS, one of my major achievements includes writing a policy from scratch. It was very daunting at first, as I hadn’t been in my placement for very long when I was asked to do it. However, I’m now very proud of the work I’ve done and pleased that I was given the opportunity to do it.

I’m also proud of the way that I’m now relatively comfortable in my day to day role. I had no prior experience of HR, meaning that I have had a lot to learn in a very short space of time. The challenge was exciting for me and I have enjoyed every minute of it.

In the next 5 years, I hope to have consolidated my knowledge of HR to a standard where I would be working as a HR manager.

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