Sonia is an experienced Senior People professional with over 25 years people experience from large commercial organisations to public sector organisations, including over 16 years within the NHS, part of that working in a large Mental Health Trust. A Senior People Consultant, leading a team of people professionals working alongside customers to achieve strategic aims, leading organisational change programmes including large-scale TUPE transfers and multi-organisational integration, redundancy and redeployment. Experienced in leading and managing employment relation casework, providing effective, timely, accurate and succinct people advice, promoting good employment relations. Sonia is passionate about providing excellent People service and sustainable People solutions that meet customer needs.
Transforming primary care in practice
20 February 2025
Key themes emerging from general practice quality improvement initiatives to help tackle clinical...
Creating a sustainable workforce: The cultural solution to high-cost temporary staffing
19 February 2025
The NHS is no stranger to workforce challenges. As pressures on the system grow, the reliance on...
How a focus on health inequalities can bring rapid benefits to financial health
9 October 2024
The Darzi reportconfirmed what most people involved in or close to the NHS already know: there is...
Helping Gloucestershire’s Pulmonary Rehab teams to breathe more easily part 2
14 October 2024
Quality and safety are the key themes for Allied Health Professionals Day 2024, emphasising the...
Neurodiversity at Work presentation - Health and Analytics Conference 2024
4 September 2024
In July, I had the honour of speaking to my analytical colleagues and leaders from across the UK...
Why outsourcing NHS Job Evaluation services is the way forward
2 September 2024
Ensuring efficiency, fairness, and transparency in job evaluations within the NHS is not just...
Unlocking success: Leveraging NHS bands for Non-NHS employers
3 October 2024
In today's competitive job market, employers from all sectors are constantly looking for ways to...
How does the NHS Job Evaluation scheme contribute to equity in healthcare?
19 August 2024
The pursuit of excellence in healthcare hinges on the principles of fairness and equity within the...
International Day of the Midwife 2024
2 May 2024
Celebrating Midwives: a vital climate solution on International Day of the Midwife 2024
This...
Are we measuring the value of early careers pathways correctly?
21 March 2024
Over the years we have developed multiple early years careers schemes and interventions. These...
Workforce productivity and efficiency: How can we drive down high-cost agency spend?
4 February 2025
In recent years, the People Solutions team here at NHS South, Central and West (SCW) has been...
How Enterprise Architecture plays a vital role in navigating the NHS’s future
27 February 2024
In today's rapidly evolving healthcare landscape, where technology is increasingly intertwined...
Keeping NHS data secure by bringing the researcher to the data
14 February 2024
The UK House of Parliament can be a pretty argumentative place and agreement across both benches...
Where does all the data used for research go and is this secure?
14 February 2024
More than one million participants took part in over 5,200 National Institute for Health and Care...
Have you got important HR programmes but not enough ‘People’ resource to deliver?
1 February 2024
Delivering your important HR programmes can be hampered when you don’t have enough people resource to do...
Enhancing the Professional Standards for Homecare Services
29 January 2024
To improve the consistency of Homecare Services and ensure patients get the right medication they...
Listen to how we helped a Trust with their productivity and efficiency challenge
22 January 2024
Improving productivity and balancing the books are a priority for the NHS. With efficiency targets...
What are the best tasks to automate?
5 December 2023
Finding the right tasks to automate can be a challenge. There will be business pressure to target...
Being curious about your current culture
7 November 2023
I listened to a podcast recently in which a brain scientist spoke about the importance of thorough...
Getting clarity on virtual wards
7 November 2023
Are we really listening to what our patients want or is it all about national targets?
The term...
The all-encompassing vision: Creating your ideal organisational culture
10 October 2023
Culture. It’s crucial to your organisation’s success. It sets the tone for employee behaviour,...
Improving healthcare services for everyone
6 October 2023
The NHS touches all our lives. Hailed a ‘national treasure,’ we know it will always be there for...
Advancing health equity through fostering equality, diversity, inclusion and wellbeing in the workforce
29 September 2023
Health and care organisations are well positioned to make a difference to inequalities in health,...
How can people professionals add value to your workforce change programmes?
31 August 2023
(Part 2) When evaluating and embedding change
In our last workforce change blog we explored how...
How can people professionals add value to your workforce change programmes?
17 August 2023
(Part 1) – when planning and implementing change… Workforce change management is the structured...
Giving away trade secrets
7 August 2023
Showcasing ideas and expertise whilst offering high-quality, innovative paid-for services has...
How to enable the culture change needed to meet integration ambitions
1 September 2023
Organisational culture. The invisible and not-so-invisible force that shapes how we work and how...
AI readiness: the future workforce has us beaten
25 July 2023
My 9-year-old son returned from being away on a school residential yesterday. Over dinner, he...
Scaling people services: sharing SCW experience
24 July 2023
Following the recent publication of the NHS England guide to scaling people services, we've been...
Cost improvement and productivity: the brewing storm
7 July 2023
As the pressure builds to increase productivity and control costs, what is the answer for Trusts...
User-centred approaches to designing performance reporting tools
29 June 2023
Without… user-centred design approaches, information requirements from users may not be well...
Making good use of our experts: What we can learn from Covid vaccine development
28 June 2023
This bank holiday weekend, in between stripping wallpaper and jet-washing the patio I finally read a...
Helping Gloucestershire’s Pulmonary Rehab teams to breathe more easily
16 June 2023
This week (19-23 June 2023) is Pulmonary Rehabilitation Week. It has been running since 2016 and...
Change is much more than a project
25 May 2023
Delivering Running Cost Allowance reductions is going to mean one thing…a commitment to change....
The Butterfly Effect: How working together benefits the reduction in high-cost agency spend
24 May 2023
The formation of Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) has seen health and social care organisations and...
Commitment and consistency in early intervention services are needed to improve mental health
19 May 2023
Nearly one in five children and young people in the UK are affected by anxiety disorders. In...
Raising awareness of bladder cancer
9 May 2023
May is bladder cancer awareness month and I felt compelled to write a short blog for both personal and...
Breaking bread - What makes a good consultation?
9 May 2023
This year’s Coeliac Awareness Week, running from 9-15 May, reminded me of a consultation that...
International Day of the Midwife 2023
5 May 2023
‘Together again: from evidence to reality’ is this year’s theme for International Day of the...
What do cricket coaching and delivering efficient public health services have in common?
19 April 2023
Reflecting on my new-found interest in junior cricket coaching, I am struck by the similarities in...
Is there a right or wrong way to introduce automation?
12 April 2023
We always want to maximise our investments, so what is the best approach to introduce automation?...
Why efficiency is crucial for communications not just operations and finances
27 March 2023
As the end of the financial year is finally within reach, all eyes are on the prize of efficiency...
Can systems convening approaches help navigate complex landscapes?
24 March 2023
As leaders facing today’s complex challenges how do you navigate this ambiguous landscape? We’ve...
Unlocking data that will change lives
15 March 2023
A significant issue facing under-represented communities in the UK right now is the burden of...
Are you embracing gifted people in your organisation?
20 February 2023
Did you ever sit in a work meeting with someone whose brain appears to whirl at 100mph, leaping to...
Automation – to do or not to do?
10 February 2023
“We need to automate”, “We are inefficient”, “Automation will save us time and money”. These are...
How do we support colleagues through the menopause?
10 February 2023
If we are to bring our authentic selves to work, then employers need to ensure there are practical tools and...
Keeping our fingers on the pulse - the importance of accountability in achieving race equality
8 February 2023
Almost three years on from the global reawakening about the prevalence and deadly impact of racial...
Five information security predictions for health and care in 2023
2 February 2023
Ahead of our Cyber Security Spotlight event in February, I was asked to share some thoughts on...
Ensuring a successful start to reducing agency spend across systems
24 January 2023
As the upcoming end-of-year and winter cost pressures bite across the system, we’re seeing lots of...
On World Cancer Day how can we ‘Close the Care Gap’?
1 February 2023
February 4th is World Cancer Day. The overall aim of this day is to inspire change, unite, raise...
High cost agency spend – the plane crash of workforce management?
10 January 2023
Delving into the intricacies of managing your workforce we look at how taking a holistic approach...
Exploring novel approaches to winter challenges
19 December 2022
Looking for the most efficient and effective ways to tackle winter challenges we’ll try lots of...
Why do we need resilience in a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous world?
13 December 2022
What will you do differently to create a person-centred culture that fosters resilience? A great...
The heart of digital
11 November 2022
I was very privileged recently, to be asked to speak at the Healthcare Excellence Through...
How can we standardise pharmacy services in secure environments?
5 October 2022
More than ever, there is a greater emphasis on the ‘equivalence’ of care for detained individuals...
Why I decided to bring my pharmacy experience to SCW
5 October 2022
Tamer Latif, Clinical Services Programme Lead, Medicines Optimisation at NHS South, Central and...
How can we support community pharmacies to be able to speed up leukaemia diagnosis?
6 October 2022
Leukaemia claims more lives than breast and prostate cancer every year, and blood cancers have a...
The significant challenges facing England's new ICBs
19 October 2022
Less than three months since they came into being formally, Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) are...
How to balance demand and capacity through CReST
27 September 2022
We’re pleased to announce that the CReST children and young people mental health referral system...
Accessibility: So much more than assistive technology, procurement processes or engagement
2 August 2022
Taking positive action towards improving accessibility in the workplace does not wait for a...
The only thing certain is change: How to keep up as a people practitioner
29 July 2022
This intriguing question was explored in the latest edition of the Healthcare People Management...
The significance of the first women’s health strategy
22 July 2022
'Healthy women are the cornerstone of healthy societies'. For me, this quote by the World Bank...
Conceptualising workforce quandaries in a different way
19 July 2022
Workforce challenges are a universal problem for most organisations. We aim to take the focus away from...
Creating an immunisation and screening service that leaves nobody behind
18 July 2022
Given the current economic climate, I feel in a fortunate position to be heading away for an...
Why reflecting and nurturing relationships is important for new ICBs
15 July 2022
Amanda Pritchard’s keynote speech at NHS ConfedExpo last month resonated with me on many levels. ...
Discover how Core20Plus Connectors are targeting health inequalities
30 June 2022
On the second day of ConfedExpo (15-16 June 2022, Liverpool), SCW hosted a session of talks and...
How do we unlock workforce potential through holistic people-centred planning?
10 June 2022
As part of developing inclusive cultures and compassionate leadership, we talk a lot about giving...
Harnessing Primary Care’s voice within ICSs to enable sustainable change
8 June 2022
General practice, primary care networks (PCNs) and Local Medical Committees (LMCs) all want to...
#ChatterMatters when transforming complex systems
24 May 2022
As we begin to grapple with the emerging concept of Integrated Care Systems and the complex nature of...
SCW midwives are passionate about digitising safe personalised care
5 May 2022
SCW is celebrating International Day of the Midwife (#IDM2022) by acknowledging the unique and...
What challenges remain for the national childhood immunisation programme?
25 April 2022
Our primary care colleagues have continued to ensure key childhood vaccinations are prioritised...
Are too many people with a learning disability dying earlier than they should be?
19 April 2022
Could the issue of too many people with a learning disability dying earlier than they should, have been...
Time to talk about mental health in the workplace
7 March 2022
Elspeth Griffiths, Director of People, shares her reflections on a recent physical injury and her...
Lived experience central to shaping the Core20Plus Connectors programme
23 February 2022
The Core20Plus Connectors programme has recently passed an important milestone, with the selection of the...
It's okay to not be okay
14 February 2022
James Jackson, our EDI and Wellbeing Programme Manager, shares his lived experience of dealing...
Reflections on SCW's support for cultural diversity
20 January 2022
Jade Smith, Programme Manager in our Strategy and Transformation team, explores her Asian Indian...
Our role in vaccinating the nation: Why a focus on wellbeing and a hedgehog can help shape the future
12 January 2022
My 6-year-old son recently asked me 'What do you most enjoy about work?', which I thought was...
Why Fika? - Thought-provoking conversations with game-changing leaders
29 January 2024
Using the 'Fika' concept, our podcast series seeks to engage with people carrying out interesting...
UK Disability History Month 2021: A time for building understanding
17 December 2021
Thank you. As we approach the end of the UK Disability History Month (18 November – 18 December 2021),...
How does the IIUT support our Health Visiting colleagues?
19 November 2021
Our Improving Immunisations Uptake Team has developed a 'Top tips for Health Visitors' guide to...
True resilience will require truly new thinking
26 October 2021
The pandemic shone a light on the health and care workforce and the difficulties being faced in...
How is the ‘Help Us, Help You’ (HUHY) campaign targeting Lung Cancer
8 October 2021
Lung cancer is one of several cancers whose symptoms are the focus of the next phase of the ‘Help...
Black History Month - Gus Mbudaya
13 October 2021
For this year’s Black History Month, Gus Mbudaya spoke to BME ally Luke Whewall. They talked about his...
What’s behind a simple letter? How we invited 50m adults for a jab
4 October 2021
David Ibbotson, Operations Director for the NHS Immunisation Management Service, reflects on the...
National Inclusion Week: What it means to me
28 September 2021
James Jackson, Workforce EDI programme manager, shares his thoughts on inclusion, specifically...
‘The biggest opportunities are at the margins of our communities’
23 September 2021
This striking comment from Dr Bola Owolabi, Director for Health Inequalities Improvement at NHS...
What does disability mean to me?
8 September 2021
Kate Toomey, Chair of the SCW Disability Network shares her experience living with a disability...
Importance of diversity in digital leadership from Digital Health Unplugged
10 September 2021
Listen to the Digital Health Unplugged podcast episode 'Diversity in digital leadership.' This...
If physical activity were a drug, we would refer to it as a miracle cure
16 August 2021
The COVID-19 pandemic saw many changes to people’s lifestyles. Some were able to increase their...
Volunteering for the Samaritans
22 July 2021
Kate Knight, Programme Director in Strategy and Transformation, shares her thoughts on being a...
How to get the most from the ARRScheme
16 June 2021
For our second PCN roundtable on 2 June, leads from across the country gathered to discuss how...
Improving flu vaccination uptake: learnings from our COVID-19 experience
9 June 2021
The dangers of flu and the risks of hospitalisation and being admitted to intensive care due to...
Three things all emerging ICSs need to know
8 June 2021
Every area of England is now covered by an Integrated Care System, all at varying levels of...
Celebrate life and connect with each other on Cancer Survivors Day
4 June 2021
June 6th is Cancer Survivors Day worldwide. The overall aim of this day is to raise awareness of...
ICSs and the drive to improve health and reduce inequalities
26 May 2021
Andrew Fenton reflects on a re-energised NHS focus on health inequalities, a place-based approach, and the...
Top tips to improve childhood vaccination uptake rates
26 April 2021
During their work with primary care colleagues across the Thames Valley, SCW’s Improving...
Challenges and opportunities for the national childhood immunisation programme
26 April 2021
Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, primary care services have faced unprecedented challenges in...
Is digital a help or hindrance to reducing health inequality?
13 April 2021
Does the shift to digital healthcare risk widening the inequalities that have been highlighted...
Is it time to incorporate your Primary Care Network?
19 February 2024
General Practice continues to face challenges from many directions: workforce challenges, the...
How streamlining GP websites will create a more accessible future
19 July 2024
Following successful completion of a recent project we undertook to improve the accessibility of...
Can digital technology be the saviour for cancer care?
3 February 2021
Three million people have now missed cancer screenings due to COVID-19 since March 2020, according to Cancer...
Playing a crucial part in the winter flu programme
17 December 2020
Commissioned by NHS England and NHS Improvement, we're supporting the 20/21 enhanced winter flu...
Innovation and future vision - what's coming next?
18 September 2020
Watch the recording from Friday 18 September Discussing Digital Changes Lunchtime webinar
A pirate's bounty - harnessing the benefits of digital healthcare
17 September 2020
Turning the promise of digital healthcare technologies into real business value. Avast ye matey!
The importance of allyship for the digital, data and technology workforce
17 September 2020
As part of our Discussing Digital Changes Lunchtime webinar series in September 2020, our panel...
Digital innovation and person-centred care
16 September 2020
Watch the recording from Wednesday 16 September Discussing Digital Changes Lunchtime webinar
CIO - CAO A match made in rich compost
15 September 2020
Watch the recording from Tuesday 15 Sept Discussing Digital Changes Lunchtime webinar
The SCW Interoperability story
14 September 2020
Watch the recording from Monday 14 September Discussing Digital Changes Lunchtime webinar
Keep calm and carry on vaccinating
3 August 2020
The global Coronavirus pandemic has highlighted the importance of effective and safe immunisation...
Looking at data in a new way speeds up system by default
27 July 2020
Why we need a new way of looking at data
NHS 111 First: Let's not allow our learning to go to waste
27 July 2020
COVID-19 has forced through many significant changes to health and care that should have happened...
Developing social prescribing to support a community through the pandemic
22 July 2020
How we are using social prescribing to support communities during the COVID-19 pandemic response.
Reflecting on how to link systems within Primary Care Networks
7 July 2020
Thinking about the system links into Community Pharmacy, Opticians and Dentists, as these are...
Try the Pomodoro technique for working from home
17 June 2020
Working in short sprints with regular breaks to maximise your productivity
The need for good management in PCNs - not just good leadership
9 June 2020
Don't underestimate the role of great management and the importance it plays in enabling the PCN...
Anxiety is part of me, but it does not define me
21 May 2020
For Mental Health Awareness Week, our colleague, Aasha Cowey, shares her experience of anxiety and...
How SCWs IT team stepped up to the COVID challenge
17 April 2020
Listen to Michael Knight, SCWs Associate Director – Technology Management and Architecture talking about...
The morning after the night before...
27 March 2020
Finding a new normal since COVID19 - Thoughts of an NHS Manager
How digital supports the efficient use of technology and resources
25 February 2020
SCW's Head of Digital Intelligence Zoe Pink, shares her journey of transformation towards digital...
Special report from Digital Health considers the future of shared care records
17 January 2020
SCW's Andrew Fenton contributes to the special report from Digital Health on the progress of...
Launching the Housing and Health Collective
21 May 2019
Working with Aster Housing Association to set up a new partnership supporting communities across...
Taking AI and machine learning to the next level
20 May 2019
Harnessing the potential of technology to transform health and care is a key focus for the NHS....
Transforming mental health services and improving wellbeing
13 May 2019
Today marks day one of Mental Health Awareness Week 2019, the UK’s national week to raise...
Transforming child health information services
14 September 2018
Sue Trinder, Director of CHIS shares the latest developments from the Digital Child Health...
Data sharing: improving efficiency, quality and safety in the NHS
23 August 2018
There has been much debate about how the NHS can sustain another 70 years. Often highlighted are...
Deeds not words
4 July 2018
The digital revolution continues, but are we making better decisions with the information we know...
What can we learn from other countries about integrating strategic commissioning?
23 June 2017
Strategic commissioning involves more than deciding whether to deliver services in-house,...