Sheinaz Stansfield is the Managing Partner of Oxford Terrace and Rawling Road Medical Group, an award-winning Practice in Gateshead, and a Development Adviser with NHS England. She won a PMA Lifetime Achievement Award at last year’s Best Practice Show.
This year’s awards will open for nominations next month.
How do you start your day?
I usually check all the various WhatsApp groups, practice, PCN, national, socials and emails, with a cuppa.
I always watch the news in the morning – this alerts me of anything I may need to be aware of that may hit our reception desk first thing (a bad habit I developed during covid – but always better to be forewarned!)
Though I don’t work in the practice every day, I touch base with what’s going on. My responsibility to the practice is and will always be my first priority. It’s here where we make the most difference to patients and that’s more important to me than anything else I might do on a day-to-day basis.
What does a typical day look like for you?
There is no typical day. I have a to do list, but it’s very rare that I’m able to stick to it. It’s often like walking on quicksand, things change without a moment’s notice, so being agile and responsive is important.
The most static things in my diary are our daily practice leadership huddle and weekly team call with the primary care transformation team. Everything else is built around those commitments. I do have a very exciting mix of operational, strategic and corporate commitments aligned to my three complementary roles, so though no two days are ever the same, every day is filled with excitement and opportunities.
What do you enjoy most about your work?
The people, the variety, the fact that I have a 360-degree overview of strategy, policy and operational functions. Working in practice keeps me grounded and authentic.
I absolutely love my work in quality improvement.
QI tools give me structure and help my team and I to have a problem-solving approach to any issues that might arise. Several members of my practice and PCN teams have undertaken quality improvement training, so they know that if they’re coming to me with a problem, they need to have done baseline measurement to identify exactly what we’re trying to solve.
Increasingly I am taking on a mentorship role and I just love watching people grow and flourish.
What is the biggest challenge currently facing primary care?
Lack of long-term vision for general practice, workforce plan and reduction in funding. Whilst people have become more complex, resources are dwindling. This has an impact on everything we do.
How can we continue to provide excellent care on the ground when policy is changed on a whim and is so disconnected from the real-world reality? That’s always a frustration for me.
How do you relax and recharge?
I connect with the team at work and with patients – they bring so much energy and joy. Working with practices and PCNs nationally is always fun. Change is as good as a rest and learning and sharing with others certainly helps me recharge.
I garden as often as I can, I exercise every day, I love to cook and entertain. Spending time with my husband and children is very important particularly now that children have flown the nest and are making their own way in the world.
