National Association of Primary Care - Executive Members

Dr Charles Alessi, Chairman

 Dr Charles Alessi is a practising GP in south west london.

Dr Alessi has extensive experience of the NHS in a variety of senior positions in both primary and secondary care  as well as PCTs and Health Authorities. Dr Alessi assumed the role of Chairman of NAPC from 1st January 2012.
 
He was intimately involved in the one of the Kingston Clinical Commissioning Group providing services to over 195,000 patients, 29 practices and over a 130 GPs.

He has extensive experience of working at senior levels both nationally and internationally, in Europe and the Americas.  As Chair of the NAPC, he is at the heart of the recent health reforms and internationally he has been active advising both Governments and international organisations.  He also has experience of military medicine until recently acting as Director of Medicine and Clinical Governance for the British Armed Forces in Germany.

On the 1st July 2012 Charles was Appointed Adjunct Professor at the Ivey School of Business, University of Western Ontario, Canada for the MBA in Health Innovation.

Dr Nav Chana, Vice Chair

Dr Chana is senior medical partner at Cricket Green Medical Practice in Mitcham, Surrey which has been a training practice and undergraduate hub for St George's University of London for many years. He is currently Vice Chairman of the National Association of Primary Care (NAPC), responsible for primary care leadership development and developing innovation in service design.

Nav has contributed to the international development of primary care in countries such as Egypt, as one of the International Development Advisers to the Egyptian Family Medicine Fellowship Programme. He has recently been appointed as Dean of General Practice and Community Based Education for the London Deanery.

Dr James Kingsland OBE, President

James is the Senior Partner in a Personal Medical Services partnership in Wallasey. He has been in practice on the Wirral since 1989. His practice has won numerous awards for clinical excellence and was in the early waves of fundholding and a first wave PMS plus site.

James was Chair of NAPC for four years and was appointed Presdient in September 2008, having served as a member of the executive since the NAPC’s inception.

He has a wealth of experience in General Practice, medical education and medical politics.

Between 1999 to 2002 he worked part time as a GP advisor to the Department of Health and was instrumental in the development and implementation of PMS policy and Walk-in Centres and worked with the DH to develop the quality agenda for General Practice.

He is now a member of the Department of Health’s National Leadership Network.

He continues to have a central role in supporting the current Reform Agenda for the NHS, particularly in the development of Practice Based Commissioning and is a member of the DH PBC Implementation Board and the DH Commissioning Policy Reference Group. He also serves on the NICE Commissioning Steering Group

He has been a GP trainer for 15 years and is a member of the Mersey Regional GP Education Committee. He is also an undergraduate tutor for the medical schools of Liverpool and University College London.

He served for 10 years on Wirral LMC, has been a member of the General Practice Committee of the BMA and for 3 years chaired its PMS sub-committee. He was formerly the Vice Chair of Wirral Health Authority having previously served as a non-executive director of Wirral FHSA.

Married to Sarah, they have 2 daughters and live in the Wirral. He includes golf, football and music as his hobbies, and hosts a weekly programme on BBC Radio Merseyside.

Dr Peter Smith OBE, Vice President

Peter has been a GP for over 13 years in Kingston upon Thames. He has taken an active part in helping colleagues with the move to Trust status and in becoming an electronic health record demonstrator site. His practice is a second wave PMS plus pilot that has used the new flexibilities to address health inequalities in a deprived area.

Peter was previously Vice Chair of the Association of Independent Multifunds, helped set up one of the first multifunds and with other colleagues set up Thamesdoc, the first night rota co-operative in the London area. He previously edited Guide to the Guidelines, the first collection of national disease management guidelines, has co-authored guidelines on inflammatory bowel disease and learning disabilities and has recently edited 'The Handbook of Primary Care Trusts'. He is a member of the national Inequalities and Public Health Task Force.

Dr Derek Hopper, Honorary Secretary

Derek Hopper has been a GP in NE Lincs for the past 30yrs. He is Senior Partner in a six doctor practice, Vice-chair of the local PEC and LMC and a Director of the local out of hours co-operative.

Derek was actively involved in first-wave fundholding/TPP and PMS, and is now actively involved in setting up PBC in NELincs, hopefully to include all GPs-in view of the high previous local involvement in fundholding and PMS.

Always keen on appropriate change, Derek hopes to see through the present agenda before retirement, he then intends to devote more time to his hobbies of travelling and playing the organ badly.

Mrs Jan Randall, Treasurer

Jan was appointed as NAPC's Treasurer in September 2011.
Jan has held director and senior management roles in provider delivery and commissioning of primary care, forensic, prison and out of hours services since 2002 in both NHS and private organisations working across much of the UK

Having joined the NAPC in 2008, Jan holds a steering group role in Yorkshire and Humberside, joining the NAPC Council in 2008 and was elected to the NAPC executive in 2009.

Jan led on practice based commissioning with a GP consortium of 19 practices and over 160,000 patients in West Yorkshire before joining NHS Kirklees in 2009 and is currently directing 7 Clinical Commissiong groups.

She is also a founding director of T19 Associates Limited established to provide project, change and management support for local GPs, commissioners and provider organisations

Executive Members

The NAPC has Executive Members representing all parts of the country including;

• Dr Johnny Marshall:  Johnny has been a GP in Buckinghamshire since 1992. Having previously served as Treasurer to National Association of Primary Care, Johnny served as Chairman from September 2008 to December 2011.  His practice was a first wave PMS pilot and works in ever closer collaboration with two other practices as the Westongrove PMS Partnership.  Johnny has undertaken various roles within the NHS Buckinghamshire and is currently chair of United Commissioning, one of the Buckinghamshire pathfinder Clinical Commissioning Groups.

• Mrs Janet Fitzgerald: Janet is an experienced Finance Professional and NHS Chief Executive with a combination of public and commercial sector experience. Janet is currentley providing expert input to emerging clinical commissioning consortia and is supporting two pathfinder consortia in Berkshire.
• Ray Guy: Ray Guy is Business Director for Ellergreen Medical Centre in North Liverpool. Ray is an experienced Business Manager. Ray is also chair of north Liverpool CCG and has a successful background in commissioning and contracting. Ray has also been a local councillor and has been a director of procurement in local government.
• Val Hempsey, Managing Partner of Three Bridges practice in Gateshead
• Rebecca Cheadle RCN Primary and Community Care adviser
• Dr Durairaj Jawahar, Dr Jawahar is a Practicing GP serving 15000 patients in North Leicester Group Practice, which is a PMS and PBC practice. He has conducted several meetings for local GPs to increase in-take of PMS & PBC. Dr Jawahar is also a GP Appraiser, QOF assessor and member of strategic group for PBC LNR PCTS GP Co-coordinator for Nurse Practitioner training and lead partner PMS/PBC. Dr Jawahar is Leicester city CCG board member, Millennium Locality CCG board lead, City COPD lead Cameron fund Trustee. Dr Jawahar was NAPC Treasurer from September 2008 until September 2011
• Dr Joanne Medhurst: Dr Medhurst was appointed Joint Managing Director and Medical Director in March 2011. As well as overseeing the day-today running of the organisation, Joanne's specific areas of responsibility include; clinical redesign, governance, safeguarding, medicines management, commissioning and the GP leadership scheme.  Jo is also a local GP - working in Bexley for nearly 15 years, having trained at Guy's Hospital.
• Dr Penny Newman:  Penny is a Salaried GP in a deprived urban practice in Ipswich, Consultant in Public Health and a member of the Commissioning Development Team in the East of England. She has significant experience in strategic commissioning, primary care and leadership development. Penny is passionate about developing the role of clinicians in leadership, the health of patients and reducing health inequalities, and improving the experience of patients.
• Dr Peter Patel: Dr Peter Patel is currently CEO of South Birmingham Independent Commissioners (SBIC) and founder Chair and Director of Service Development for SBIC actively involved in implementing PBC from Year 1. SBIC lead for establishing partnership with Foundation Trusts and Social Enterprises/third sector organizations in West Midlands.
  Co-coordinating Lead for Health Care Commissioning Federation in Birmingham and Small CCGs Alliance. Strategic Commissioning advisor to two independent consortia and specialist advisor to community pharmacists association.
• Katherine Sheerin, Assoicate Director of PBC Liverpool PCT

Special Advisors

• Professor Michael R Chester, Patient Centred Commissioning
  Director of the National Refractory Angina Centre, Consultant Cardiologist & Royal Liverpool & Broadgreen University Hospital Trust. Professor of Rehabilitation & Preventive Health Education, Liverpool Hope University.
  
  Mike trained as an interventional cardiologist and passionately believes that patient centredness is the right prescription for the NHS. Mike believes that practice based commissioning is the only realistic vehicle that can deliver the high quality and sustainable NHS that we and our patients want. His multi award winning centre has been at the vanguard of total patient involvement in the design and evolution of services for over a decade. The former Chief executive of the NHS described Mike as “truly leading the way in customer excellence.”