“I Love Meeting So Many Diverse People”

Jake is a clinical pharmacist for North Doncaster PCN, working in four GP’s surgeries across North Doncaster. Having only joined the team in January 2020, he arrived at Primary Care Doncaster just before the arrival of the Covid-19 pandemic, and so had some unique challenges to face in his first few months of the job. Nevertheless, he finds his role extremely rewarding, helping patients to get the most from their medicines while also ensuring GPs prescribe efficiently and safely. 

Jake said “One of my favourite parts of the job is being able to meet such a diverse group of people from across Doncaster’s healthcare sector and having the chance to see so many different approaches and viewpoints.” Although he finds the job challenging, he finds it extremely enjoyable too, with plenty of room for learning and progression. 

He added “My greatest achievement in this role so far has been participating in the rollout of the COVID vaccinations, and the fact that Doncaster’s rate of rollout has been especially good when compared with some other areas of the country makes me feel very proud of my contribution.” Delivering hundreds of jabs himself has given him a great sense of achievement, being a key part of the effort to get the world moving once more.

Despite the fact that he has more than once got lost when looking for the PCD building at the Tickhill Road site (it happens to the best of us, Jake!), he is extremely happy with how PCD has supported his personal development by offering flexible working hours that fit easily around training days. He also reported that he finds his senior staff members extremely approachable, friendly and ready to assist should he experience any problems. “In short, PCD is a great organisation to work for” Jake said. 

“I Love Being Part Of A Friendly, Supportive Team”

Paul is a primary care network co-ordinator for 4Doncaster PCN and joined in March 2020. He helps the practices in his network to work together and works closely with the other primary care network coordinators serving the Doncaster area.

Even with a pandemic to contend with, Paul was made to feel welcome from day one and manages to work between the Rutland Centre for the network and from home which provides greater flexibility to his role. “Working as part of a friendly and supportive team means I can facilitate and assist my practices better, whether that’s arranging meetings or liaising between clinicians” he said.

Primary care networks were truly thrown into the spotlight for the first time throughout the pandemic as they were responsible for delivering the vaccination programme across practices in many areas of the country. Unsurprisingly, Paul reports this as his greatest achievement so far. “Helping with the vaccination clinics for older patients at the start of the programme was a real privilege and such a great way to see how practices can combine their efforts to care for those most vulnerable.”

“I Love How Every Day Is Completely Different”

Suzanne joined PCD in August 2020 as a Chief Nurse based at the Tickhill hospital site’s Honeysuckle Lodge. She is responsible for and oversees workforce development, clinical services, clinical strategy and TARGET nurse and GP training across the Doncaster area. 

Suzanne said “The team that I work with are all superb players within the organisation, playing key roles when it comes to underpinning the services it provides. We all think along similar lines when it comes to developing ideas and shaping services together with staff and patients, and that makes it much easier to get things done.” 

Having joined the organisation during the worldwide Covid-19 pandemic, she immediately faced challenges upon taking up her post, but despite the difficulties the virus presented, she believes that her greatest achievement in her job so far is organising the Covid vaccine rollout hubs across the Doncaster region. It’s no wonder, then, that Suzanne reports that her job is “pivotal and challenging, but rewarding nevertheless.” 

When it comes to her favourite aspects of her role at Primary Care Doncaster, Suzanne is in no doubt of what she likes most about her job. “I love the responsibility and autonomy of my role. I also like how much variety it offers; every single day is completely different”. She said. “I also appreciate how PCD always supports my professional development and helps me to achieve more as I progress through my career in the healthcare sector.”