Meet the team – Midlands

Dr Julian Barratt is the Lead for the Centre for Advancing Practice at NHS England, leading the complex, high profile, multi-faceted portfolio of advanced practice from a national perspective, and in the NHS Midlands region as its Regional Faculty Lead for Advancing Practice. Julian’s registrant background is as a nurse in emergency medicine, and in advanced practice as a nurse practitioner in unscheduled primary care, general practice, and event healthcare. Julian has extensive clinical academic experience in advanced clinical practice, prescribing, research, and proven senior nursing academic and strategic leadership qualities, including leading and developing multi-professional advanced practice education for advanced practitioners. Julian is very well informed on the advanced practice agenda and its associated policy and research developments, having been involved in advanced practice developments from the mid-1990s onward.

Twitter – @cn150

I have had a dynamic and interesting career, initially as an adult social worker and then I have worked in NHS applied research over the last 16 years including roles in research management, teaching and governance.  Over the last 8 years, I have specialised in project and programme management with keen focus on education and development of the healthcare research workforce. I took the lead in developing the Academic Career Development Strategy for the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration in Greater Manchester, then co-designed and implemented new programmes such as the internship and pre-doctoral fellowship programme for health and care professionals across Greater Manchester. I am passionate about career development opportunities for heath and care staff and excited to take up this secondment within NHS England.

I’m a Project Support Officer for the Faculty for Advancing Practice.

My previous appointment was working with the City Council as a Project Officer identifying barriers women face to their achievements and how these can be overcome.

I studied BSc (Hons) Psychology at De Montfort University and graduated in January 2019. I really enjoyed studying Work Psychology; understanding how organisations work and how best to help them. I’m excited to be in a role that links back to what I enjoyed studying and going a step further in helping to improve lives through the work I do.

I am a Project Support Office for the Faculty for Advancing Practice in the Midlands. I studied BA (Hons) Business Administration which has helped to assist and develop my career further.

I have over 20 years’ experience working for the NHS across the UK within various Trusts, CCGs and the Department of Health. Eight of these years were previously with Health Education England, now NHS England, working on the UK Foundation Programme for doctors. I am passionate about the work NHS England provides and I’m excited to once again be part of an organisation that helps support the delivery of excellent healthcare and health improvements to our workforce and patients in the UK.

I am very excited to be joining the Faculty for Advancing Practice (Midlands) Team. I have been fortunate to experience a variety of roles including: General Assessment Officer for the OCR Examinations Board for 10 years. I have worked with Adults Health and Social Care for 10 years, and Administrator to UK Health Security Agency, supporting Covid-19 infection control during the pandemic and Administration Lead for the Tuberculosis, Safeguarding and Hepatitis clinical teams.

The proudest moment of my career was being nominated by members of the public as an ‘unsung hero’ for the Chamberlain Awards in terms of my promptness and efficiency of my delivery of service, empathy, care and discretion.  I am delighted to be part of an organisation that helps support the delivery of excellent healthcare and health improvements to our workforce and patients in the UK.

Hi, I am Karen. I have had a varied and interesting career so far with a clinical background originally in urgent care, minor injuries and trauma and orthopaedics and more recently in emergency and acute care. I have a passion for teaching and facilitating education and have continued to combine this with clinical practice in my role as an Advanced Clinical Practitioner (ACP) teaching fellow. I qualified as an ACP in 2017 and work with medical students and ACP’s in both clinical practice and in more formal education settings, including simulation, which I have a keen interest in. As a new supervision and assessment lead, I hope to bring my experience in education and my passion for advanced practice to the role and I am really looking forward to working with the existing team both regionally and nationally.

Karen has already started with the team and will be working with the Faculty 2 days a week.

Hi, I am Sarah. I am Paediatric Advanced Clinical Practitioner working in the Midlands region. I have worked in a variety of clinical settings from General paediatrics, Accident and Emergency, ITU and Community. I have always been passionate about advanced practice since I started my advanced practice journey in Paediatric Cardiac intensive Care in 2010.  I have an interest in Simulation and Human Factors and am currently undertaking a post Graduate Certificate in Human Factors for Patient Safety. I work for the Midlands Faculty 3 days a week whilst continuing to work clinically 2 days a week.

I have been an Advanced Clinical Practitioner in community rehabilitation settings for 13 years and I am currently working as the Clinical Lead for Advanced Practice for Derbyshire Community Health Services. I am looking forward to meeting and supporting advanced practitioners from across the region working in rehabilitation.

I’ve been a Consultant Nurse in Emergency Medicine at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW) since March 2019. My career spans over 30 years; working in Clinical and Leadership roles in Urgent and Emergency Care services.  I’m Nurse lead for the development of Minor Injury and Minor Illness services and Practitioners within these services in Emergency Medicine. I work collaboratively with UTC services and Trust partners locally and within Emergency Medicine to develop streamlined services and support the education and development of the advancing practice workforce in these areas. My interests include Health and wellbeing: I am Health and wellbeing lead for Emergency Medicine group, Trust Wellbeing champion, TRiM manager, and Team Time Facilitator in collaboration with Point of Care Foundation.

I began my nurse training as a Nightingale at St. Thomas’ Hospital and, having consolidated, went on to specialise in Intensive Care Nursing at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital. Having moved to the Midlands, I furthered my knowledge in the field, spending a total of 14 years in ITU. In 2012, I changed pathways and began my midwifery career. In 2017, I undertook my MSc in Advanced Clinical Practice and now lead a team of midwives who provide enhanced maternal care to those women who need this, either because of pre-existing co-morbidities or acute deterioration in health.

I started my advanced practice career over ten years ago, working as an ACP within acute medicine at University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust (UHDB), and continue to work as a clinician in this area. In my leadership role as Associate Director for Advanced Practice at UHDB, I am passionate about the standard of training for ACPs in acute care and keen to ensure that trainees are supported within their programmes to reach their full capability.

I currently work within NHS England in the capacity of Training Programme Director for Mental Health (Midlands). I am a passionate advocate of advanced practice in mental health. I previously worked as the Supervision & Assessment Lead for the Midlands Regional Faculty and has had a great deal of experience within the field of advanced practice including aspects of workforce transformation, governance assurance, supervision & assessment, training & education, and promoting the role of advanced practice in mental health and all it has to offer.

Clinically, I am currently undertaking my Approved Clinician Training within Nottinghamshire Healthcare. I very much looks forward to working with the midlands region to develop advanced practice in mental health further.

Following a varied and exciting career in all areas of Pharmacy over the last 20 years, in 2013, I took part in the Health Education West Midlands pilot, looking at being a prescribing pharmacist in ED. Following on from this work, I embarked on my ACP training at the University of Warwick and qualified as an ACP in Acute and Emergency Medicine in Paediatrics. I, subsequently, worked as an ACP as part of a Hepatology Transplant team for 6 months, and then 5 years ago transferred my skills over to pre-assessment in elective orthopaedics at the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital. In this ACP role, I work as part of the wider medical workforce clerking and examining patients, to ensure they are fit for surgery. I have always been passionate about the pharmacy profession and as an ACP understand the challenges they can face within such roles. I am excited to be starting in this role, to ensure that pharmacists embarking on their ACP journey are supported for their professional development.

I am an Advanced Physiotherapy Practitioner specialising in Paediatric Trauma and Orthopaedics at Birmingham Children’s Hospital. I care for inpatients under Trauma and Orthopaedics, Spinal Surgery and Orthopaedic Oncology as well as Fracture Clinics and Elective Orthopaedic clinics.

Hello, my name is Alison, and my professional passion is promoting the health and well-being of individuals with learning disabilities and Autism, ensuring they achieve the best health outcomes and opportunities that lead to living a better quality of life. My passion stems from my close connection to those with learning disabilities and Autism, such as my younger brother George. This has provided me with first-hand experience of how clinicians can impact the lives of individuals by improving their mental and physical health, preventing health inequalities, promoting reasonable adjustments, and empowering them to lead rewarding lives. I am looking forward to meeting fellow professionals who share the same passion as myself, for the role of Advanced Clinical Practitioners within the NHS workforce, especially in the field of learning disabilities and Autism’.