As you may know, earlier this year we advertised for a Nurse Director to strengthen our Board, recognising that it currently comprises four GPs and one Practice Manager.

The current Board composition reflects the organisation’s constitution and, in particular, the requirement for directors to be a partner in a Sunderland GP practice; nurse partners remain the exception rather than the rule.

Utilising the ability of the Board to appoint directors where they feel there is a skills gap that needs addressing, the Alliance advertised the opportunity across the city and were delighted to receive a number of applications for the role. Interviews were held in early August and we’re pleased to announce that Dawn Innes, a Senior Practice Nurse at Concord Medical Practice, was successful in being appointed to the Board. Dawn has over ten years’ experience as a Practice Nurse and splits her time between this role and her Advanced Nurse Practitioner position with the same surgery. She has been very active in the Washington locality, representing them in the design, planning and delivery of Community Integrated Teams, being their nursing nominee on the General Practice Group, and assisting with the implementation of the post-discharge pilot. Dawn is very excited to be joining the Board and I’m sure you will join us in welcoming her to the role.