Sadie Rooney

Operational Oversight & Service Transformation People Leadership & Performance Culture Strategic Data Use & Executive Support Stakeholder Management & Change Implementation

In my current role as Patient Services Team Lead at Nuffield Health Parkside, I am responsible for the leadership and coordination of 36 staff across three reception teams, serving as a key operational conduit between frontline services, support departments, and the executive board. This position has given me end-to-end visibility of service delivery within a complex healthcare environment — from workforce management and system performance, to patient experience and strategic reporting.

My leadership focus is underpinned by a drive to embed accountability, service excellence, and cross-team alignment with organisational priorities. Key areas of impact include:

• Lead day-to-day operations across multiple clinical reception points, managing rotas, payroll, and resource planning to ensure seamless patient access and service continuity.
• Introduced competency frameworks to clarify role expectations, reduce handover errors, and foster a shared understanding across Physical Therapy, Day unit, and our core reception team.
• Authored and rolled out a bespoke Staff Guidebook to standardise procedures and reduce administrative variance, supporting more resilient and consistent service delivery.
• Deliver onboarding, training, and coaching to all new Patient Services staff; conduct regular 1:1s, appraisals, and targeted development plans to improve engagement and performance.
• Drove a token registration improvement initiative, increasing engagement from 34% to 97%, directly enhancing data quality, patient flow, and operational insight.
• Improved team morale and service reputation, evidenced by a rise in our Google Review score from 3.8 to 4.1 stars through focused staff engagement and patient feedback analysis.
• Provide regular data reports and service trend analyses for tokenisation, patient throughput, and feedback metrics, enabling evidence-based decisions at senior level.
• Work closely with directors on Net Promoter Score (NPS) strategy — contributing to feedback loops that translate directly into service improvements and policy changes.
• Act as the primary escalation point for complex or sensitive complaints, resolving issues across multiple channels with professionalism and discretion.
• Supported staff through several internal restructures and system changes, fostering a culture of adaptability, clear communication, and psychological safety.
• Managed operational rollout of key facility changes (e.g., paid parking system), handling appeals and external communications to ensure fairness and consistency.

In this role, I stepped into management to deepen my operational understanding of healthcare delivery in a primary care setting. I was responsible for supporting both clinical and administrative teams, ensuring day-to-day operations were efficient, compliant, and aligned with patient needs. This experience gave me direct exposure to the inner workings of NHS primary care, while developing my leadership, coordination, and service improvement capabilities.

• Oversaw the daily functioning of the surgery, acting as a central point of coordination between clinical and admin teams to ensure a smooth patient journey.
• Organised and led daily GP briefings and multidisciplinary team (MDT) meetings, managing follow-ups and distributing minutes to ensure action tracking.
• Supported recruitment, interviews, onboarding, and return-to-work processes, contributing to workforce stability and performance.
• Delivered appraisals and performance management, including participation in disciplinary procedures and staff development conversations.
• Managed the clinical rota, aligning annual leave, study leave, and training with operational needs, and programmed learning events into EMIS.
• Took the lead on managing patient complaints and concerns, handling issues proactively and empathetically to avoid escalation and protect service reputation.
• Stepped in to de-escalate complex patient interactions over the phone or in person, maintaining professionalism and safeguarding staff wellbeing.
• Managed QOF (Quality and Outcomes Framework) recalls and performance tracking to ensure compliance with national standards.
• Supported critical back-office functions including Docman processing, prescription management, and day-to-day EMIS-based task handling.

In December 2020, I seized the opportunity to attend a training programme to become a qualified phlebotomist. Since then, I have gained extensive hands-on experience in direct patient care, operating independently to manage my own patient lists while ensuring high standards of efficiency and time management.

• Each day, I reviewed my clinic schedule to ensure that all bookings were appropriate and met clinical requirements. Prior to every consultation, I meticulously prepared by setting up the necessary equipment and documentation, ensuring smooth and effective patient encounters. I was also responsible for both collecting and handling specimens, ensuring accurate labelling and documentation in line with best practice.
• A key part of my role involved reviewing clinical documents and GP consultations to determine the appropriate tests required. This required a high level of attention to detail and clinical awareness to ensure continuity of care, along with clear and thorough documentation to support the work of fellow clinicians.
• Throughout this role, I developed the ability to adapt my approach to each individual patient, confidently managing a range of responses including anxiety, fainting, vomiting, and needle phobia with empathy and professionalism.
• I maintained strict adherence to infection prevention and control protocols, regularly updating my knowledge through mandatory training and e-learning modules.
• Additionally, I supported the wider practice team through various ad hoc responsibilities, including issuing prescriptions, assisting with QOF recalls, and training new reception staff.

In this role, I served as the first point of contact for patients seeking medical advice, delivering high-quality service both in-person and remotely. My key responsibilities included:

• Communicating with patients professionally via phone, email, and face-to-face to provide accurate and timely information regarding services, appointments, and procedures.
• Managing appointment bookings through effective triaging, while addressing enquiries and navigating complex or sensitive situations, including managing challenging behaviours to minimise escalation or complaints.
• Coordinating patient recalls for follow-up care, including vaccinations, abnormal test results, and other clinical needs, ensuring continuity of care.
• Upholding strict adherence to GDPR legislation and handling highly confidential medical and administrative documentation with discretion.
• Scanning and assigning clinical documents to the appropriate healthcare professionals for timely action.
• Providing operational support to management, including undertaking delegated tasks and responsibilities during periods of absence or when otherwise required.

Further employment history is available upon request.