Our Staff

Meet Our Team

We want to help you understand what different members of the general practice team do and why you may be seen by someone other than a GP.

Services in general practice and the community are being transformed to make it easier for patients to access a wider range of help from general practice, closer to home by phone or online. When you contact our practice for an appointment, you’ll often expect to speak directly with a GP in the first instance, even if that may not be the most appropriate person to help you.

In addition to the excellent non-clinical support staff, which includes practice managers, the reception and Admin team, the general practice team has expanded to include a wide range of healthcare professionals who work alongside GPs and nurses to ensure patients receive the care they need as quickly as possible. This includes Advanced Clinical Practitioners, Paramedics, clinical pharmacists, physiotherapists, social prescribing link workers and many more.

Every GP practice in Greater Manchester is different, each offering different healthcare professionals who can support delivery of your care, so you access the most appropriate care and services from the right healthcare professional.

We are a GP team

We provide a range of different roles in the wider GP practice team. We help prevent illness and offer treatment to patients with minor ailments, chronic and long-term conditions, aiming to keep them well and in their own homes.

Do you know our GP practice team? Find out more about us and the different roles below.

Doctors

DR LIAQAT ALL NATHA

MBChB

I qualified in 1997 from Liverpool University and became a partner at Kearsley Medical Centre in 2002. I am responsible for the computer systems at the practice and work for NHS Bolton Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) as an Information Management and Technology Clinical Lead. I am married with 4 young children and involved in working with the local community.

DR SUMIT GUHATHAKURTA

MBChB MRCGP PGDip Cardiology.

I qualified in 1997 from Edinburgh University and joined the Practice in 2003 as a Partner. I am responsible for training GP Registrars in the Practice. I have a special interest in Cardiology and as well as regular appointments I also perform joint injections and cryotherapy. I am married and have 4 children.

DR CHARLOTTE MORAN

MBChB nMRCGP

I graduated from Manchester University in 2002. After a career change from A & E, I became a registrar and then employed GP at the practice and now I am a partner here at Kearsley. I have a dog and cat.

DR REBECCA CRUICKSHANK

MBChB MRCGP

I graduated from the University of Leeds in 2009. I originally worked at the practice as a trainee in 2010 and re-joined as a Salaried GP in January 2015. Since 1 February 2016, I have become a Partner at Kearsley Medical Centre My areas of interest include Paediatrics and End of Life Care. Outside of work, I enjoy going to the gym, reading and eating out.

DR MATTHEW YELLAND

MBChB MRCGP

I qualified from the University of Manchester in 2011. Having spent 6 months during my GP training at the practice in 2014, I re-joined as a salaried GP in August 2016 and on 1 February 2018, I became a GP Partner. My areas of specialist interest include paediatrics and end of life care. Outside of work, I keep fit by running regularly, enjoy watching football and eating out.

DR CARLY POPE

MBChB nMRCGP

I qualified from The University of Manchester in 2015. I worked at Kearsley Medical Centre for the first time in 2019 and have come back after completing my GP training. I have an interest in Women’s Health and Sexual Health. Outside of work I enjoy spending time with family and friends, eating out and going on holiday.

DR CAROLINE MARTIN

MBChB, DRCOG

I graduated from the University of Manchester in 2017. I was a trainee at the practice in 2023, and re-joined as a salaried GP in January 2024. I have an interest in Women’s Health. Outside of work I enjoy running, pilates and going to the cinema.

DR TAHLIA COOKE

MbChB (hons), MRCGP

I graduated from the University of Manchester in 2018. I first came to the practice in 2021 as a trainee GP, and have come back as a salaried GP in January 2023. I have a specialist interest in palliative care, and work part time at a hospice. In my spare time I enjoy eating out, knitting, and yoga.

DR DINITHI HENNAYAKE

ST3 Trainee

DR YOUNG-HA YOU

ST3 Trainee

DR BALAJI SHANMUGAM

ST3 Trainee

DR LAMA SAEID

ST3 Trainee

DR HAITHAM DARWICH

ST2 Trainee

Advanced Clinical Practitioner - ACP's

Advanced clinical practitioners (ACP's) come from a range of professional backgrounds such as nursing, pharmacy, paramedics and occupational therapy. They are healthcare professionals educated to Master’s level and have developed the skills and knowledge to allow them to take on expanded roles and scope of practice caring for patients. They can examine patients, diagnose health concerns, prescribe medicines, plan a patient’s care and help to manage long-term conditions. Our ACP's at Kearsley form part of our Urgent Care Team and deal with patients with acute issues on the day.

NICKY GUHATHAKURTA

ADVANCED CLINICAL PRACTITIONER

MARZENA HIRSCH

Paramedic

Our primary care paramedics work as part of our urgent care team at the GP practice. They work closely with the GPs and advanced clinical practitioners (ACPs) to respond to urgent on the day medical requests from patients on site and those who are housebound or otherwise unable to get into the surgery. All our paramedics are experienced in in-depth clinical assessment and history taking and able to see, treat, and refer patients independently, or liaise back with GPs to formulate care plans. The goal of the paramedic team is to safely manage people, sometimes at home, and to avoid them having to go to hospital, however if they feel that you do need to go to hospital, they are able to arrange admission direct to a speciality team. The paramedic team can also refer you on to other community services such as the Proactive Care Team, Social Prescribers, and Community Nursing teams.

RACHEL GLENNON

I qualified from Edge Hill University as a Paramedic in 2015. Since then, I have worked for North West Ambulance Service on emergency ambulances. I have a particular interest in diabetes, cardiology and respiratory conditions.

PARAMEDIC *

CHERYL SCHOFIELD

Cheryl works all day Mondays, Wednesday afternoon and Friday mornings for our Kearsley Patients.

Practice Nurse Team

CHARLOTTE SIGLEY

Practice Nurse

SAMANTHA WHEATLEY

Practice Nurse Lead & Trainer

I qualified as a Registered General Nurse in 2004, I also hold qualifications in teaching and mentoring within Nursing academia. I gained my experience working in A&E and then spent 5 years in community working closely with the District Nurses, to then move forward into practice nursing where I have been for the last 11 years as Senior Sister. Outside of work I enjoy watching most sports and I enjoy travel.

IMOGEN SHASBY

Practice Nurse

SARAH WATKINS

Nursing Assistant Practitioner

I have 20 years experience working in the NHS, from working on hospital wards and A+E to working as a phlebotomist and then the last 8 years in a primary care GP setting. I love working in healthcare and meeting new people. I am able to undertake many chronic disease annual reviews, as well as take bloods, perform ECG's, B12 injections, Flu Pneumo and Shingles Vaccines, Blood pressure monitoring, Health Checks, and Lifestyle Advice. I also do home visits for our patients who are unable to attend surgery.

Pharmacists

Clinical pharmacists are health professionals who train for many years to become specialists in medicines. They can work directly with you as part of the GP team to make sure your medicines help you to get better and stay well. Having a clinical pharmacist in the GP team means you can be treated by the best person to meet your needs. All pharmacists are registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council. You may see or speak with a clinical pharmacist when you need expert advice on your medicines. If you have a long term condition, the clinical pharmacist can talk to you about the medicines you are taking to make sure they are working for you. They can also help you make changes to your life to help you stay well. If your medicine is making you feel bad, the clinical pharmacist can help by changing your medicine or changing how much medicine you are taking. If you take a few different medicines, the clinical pharmacist can help you make sure they are all working well together. If you are taking medicines for a long time, you will need to have them checked at least once a year. The clinical pharmacist can check all your medicines and talk to you about how the medicines are working for you. They can also do health checks like taking your blood pressure or making appointments for you to have other tests, like blood tests. If your medicines have been changed while you were in hospital, the clinical pharmacist can help explain these changes and make sure the medicines are working well for you.

CLINICAL PHARMACIST

Pharmacy Technicians

Our Pharmacy Technicians are available to provide help and support with prescribing related patient queries, able to synchronise repeat medications and liaise with the GP if there are any issues.

LINDSAY YATES

Pharmacy Technician

HANNAH LOWE

Pharmacy Technician

JILL CROPPER

Care Home Pharmacy Technician

LAUREN JOLLY

Female

Trainee Pharmacy Technician

Practice Management

STACEY WALSH

Practice Manager

Stacey is involved in managing all of the business aspects of the practice such as making sure that the right systems are in place to provide a high quality of patient care, human resources, finance, patient safety, premises and equipment and information technology. The practice manager supports the GPs and other medical professionals with delivering patient services and also helps to develop extended services to enhance patient care.

SAMMIE WARDLE

Deputy Practice Manager

Sammie works closely with Stacey supporting in aspects of management and is available to deal with practice management issues in Stacey’s absence. In particular Finance, HR and recruitment.

ALISON HORNBY

Lead Manager

Alison is the Lead Manager supporting both reception and administration teams. She is also the point of contact for Safeguarding issues and medical reports. Alison works alongside Diane and Sammie to ensure our administration systems run smoothly.

DIANNE SUMNER

Office Management Team

Dianne runs our Reception and Administration team and is able to deal with any queries involved with booking appointments, prescriptions and home visit requests.

NICOLA PAYNE

Office Management Team & Staff Trainer

Nicola is our staff trainer. She provides all our staff with up to date training as our services and clinical systems change and adapt to the NHS requirements. Nicola also works alongside Diane managing the Reception and Administration Teams.

Admin Team

Our admin team consists of Corinne, Sarah, Abigail and Fiona. Together they process all hospital letters, send referrals, process registration forms, dictate all letters and other administrative tasks for both the practice and our patients.

Reception

Our receptionist team is made up of Angela, Diane, Jean, Bernie, Diane D, Nicola, Kate, Sam, Chelsea, Anne, Emma, Caitlyn, Fiona B, Tracey, Emily, Fiona P, Becci and Jacqueline. Receptionists provide an important link for patients with the practice, either face to face or over the telephone and are your initial contact point for general enquiries. They can provide basic information on services and results and direct you to the right person depending on your health issue or query. Receptionists make appointments with the GPs and nurses. They also perform important tasks such as issuing repeat prescriptions, dealing with prescription enquiries and general administration duties. They are trained in chaperoning procedures should a GP or patient require this. They are here to help and we would appreciate them being treated with respect.

Mental Health First Aiders

At Kearsley Medical Centre we care and support our staff. We have trained two members of our Admin team, Diane and Emma, to be Mental Health First Aiders as part of our health and well being strategy. Diane and Emma can – Understand the important factors affecting mental ill health – Identify the signs and symptoms for a range of mental health conditions – Use ALGEE to provide Mental Health First Aid to someone experiencing a mental health issue or crisis – Listen non-judgementally and hold supportive conversations using the Mental Health First Aid action plan – Signpost people to professional help, recognising that your role as a Mental Health First Aider does not replace the need for ongoing support. Kearsley Medical Centre wants to ensure all staff are safe and supported to bring their whole selves to work. We are working on strategies, such as our inclusivity. Mental health is one element of wellbeing alongside others such as physical, financial and emotional wellbeing, which are all connected in a whole person approach.

EMMA ROTHWELL

MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AIDER

DIANNE SUMNER

Specialist Leads

DR CHARLOTTE MORAN

LQBTQ+ Lead

Charlotte raises staff awareness of best practice for LGBTQ+ inclusion and offers support to our patients.

DR CHARLOTTE MORAN

Female

Military Veteran Lead

Charlotte stays up to date with the latest research and innovations and ensure that the practice is meeting the health commitments of the Armed Forces Covenant. They are available to provide advice to colleagues, as well as possibly seeing veterans themselves.

CHELSEA LIDDELL

Carers Lead

Chelsea is our Carers Champion. She is a member of our staff who supports carers and acts as a key contact for carer information for our patients. She aims to improve our carer's quality of life and help them to continue in their caring role.

KASIA KEDRA- ORSZULIK

ESL Lead

English Second Language Lead

At Kearsley we acknowledge that some of our patients have English as their second language and for some this can be a barrier for accessing our services. To increase our inclusivity we have appointed Kasia from our reception team as our 'English as a second language' Lead. Kasia is originally from Poland and is empathetic to our patients who may struggle with our processes that are communicated in English. Please ask for Kasia if you require any additional support accessing our services.

Musculoskeletal Practitioner - MSK's

A First Contact Musculoskeletal Practitioner (MSK), is a healthcare professional working at the GP surgery, and being the ‘first contact’ for a patient. This means that you do not need to see a GP in order to see the MSK, you can ask to see them directly without referral if you have a musculoskeletal (MSK) problem. The MSK can undertake specialist assessment and provide appropriate advice and establish a management plan that is appropriate for you. Physiotherapists working as MSK’s are experienced musculoskeletal clinicians who have experience of assessing and managing bone, muscle, nerve or joint conditions.

ASAD HUSSAIN

MUSCULOSKELETAL PRACTITIONER

HARRY THEOCHAROUS

Social Prescriber

What is a social prescriber? Social prescribing is a way to give people time, focusing on 'what matters to you' and taking a holistic approach to people's health and wellbeing. They connect people to community groups and statutory services for practical and emotional support.

JAYNE SPOTSWOOD

TYLER O'NEILL

Mental Health Practitioner

MATTHEW WOOD

Health Improvement Practitioners

Health Improvement Practitioners provide lifestyle checks, advice and support to patients who are at risk of developing serious long term conditions