Meet the senior team

The senior leadership team provides strategic leadership for the CN, driving our major quality improvement programmes and in some networks quality assurance across Cheshire, Merseyside, Lancashire and South Cumbria in the priority areas.

They oversee our work to improve local health outcomes which we do by connecting commissioners, providers, professionals, patients and the public across a pathway of care to share best practice and innovation, measure and benchmark quality and outcomes, and drive improvement.

The associate director is accountable to NHS England’s area team medical director, who in turn is accountable to the area team director through to the regional director.

Please click the links below to view individual profiles for our Senior Leadership Team and our Business Manager.

Senior leadership team

Jan Vaughan, Deputy Director of Clinical Networks and Senates

Email: jan.vaughan1@nhs.net

Jan started her career as an Accountant in industry and joined the NHS in 1993. Since then she has held senior positions in Finance and General Management in primary and secondary care as well as SHA level. In addition, she has sat on a number of national working groups and has presented her work both nationally and internationally.

Jan has been working within the network environment since 2002, firstly in Cardiac and Stroke. She was appointed Director of Clinical Networks in April 2011. The role encompassed Cancer, Cardiac, Stroke, Neurosciences, Kidney Care, Critical Care and Neo-natal Care Networks. She was subsequently appointed as Associate Director for Strategic Clinical Networks and Senate for Cheshire and Merseyside in 2012.

Jan has an MSc from Manchester Business School and post graduate certificates from both Harvard and Berkley Universities. She is currently undertaking her Doctorate at Middlesex University.

Bernadette Hurst, Senior Clinical Network Manager

Email: bernadette.hurst@nhs.net

Bernadette has worked in the NHS for nearly 7 years, initially joining the North West Strategic Health Authority to lead the development and delivery of a large scale change programme across the North West region supporting the Health, Wellbeing and Social Care reforms and the transition of Public Health into Local Government. In her current role, Bernadette is a member of the senior management team for the Networks and Senate, and deputises for the Associate Director.

Prior to this, Bernadette has led multi-organisational partnerships at both regional and sub-regional levels, aimed at securing continuous improvement in the public sector. She has  many years experience of leading complex multi-disciplinary teams, including a considerable period of time as an Assistant Chief Executive within Local Government.

Bernadette has also spent several years as part of a team seconded to central Government providing advice and support to all Authorities in the North West around the Government’s modernisation agenda. Her work has received national recognition by the Local Government Information Unit, the Institute for Public Policy and Research, the Merseyside Observatory for Social Inclusion, the IDeA and a number of universities.

Kathy Collins, Senior Clinical Network Manager

Email: k.collins5@nhs.net

Kathy has worked in the NHS for 40 years. She qualified as a Registered Nurse in 1986 and worked in a number of nursing management roles, before moving in to general management, taking up a post as Clinical Services Manager in a large acute hospital where she was responsible for the clinical areas of Gastroenterology, Endoscopy, Infectious Diseases and Specialist Palliative Care.

Kathy joined the National Cancer Service Improvement Collaborative in 2001, initially working as a service improvement facilitator within Cheshire and Merseyside, before being appointed as deputy service improvement lead. She took up a post within Merseyside & Cheshire Cancer Network as Associate Director in 2008, which included leading on the end of life care programme.

Dr Paul Mackenzie, Senior Clinical Network Manager

Email: paul.mackenzie@nhs.net

Paul leads on Diabetes across the North West Coast. Before joining the CN he worked in commissioning and at the Academic Health Science Network specialising in Patient Safety.

Paul has developed expertise in various clinical areas utilising project and programme management skills. He is passionate about reducing health inequalities and involving patients in improvement work and has developed and implemented a number of health care strategies across the region. He has an academic background and expertise in the area of cancer prevention. He also has a strong clinical background in nursing, having worked in a variety of health care sectors including Hospice Care, District Nursing, Macmillan Nursing, Secondary Care and Tertiary Care as well as the third sector.