MEET THE NEW PRACTICE MANAGER, LINDSEY WRIGHT
Whilst most of us visit the Surgery only rarely at the moment, patients who do attend Davenport House in person may well spot a new face. Lindsey Wright joined the Practice in May, just a couple of weeks after lockdown was imposed in England.
‘It was certainly an unusual way to start a new job,’ smiles Lindsey who had previously worked in similar roles with opticians. ‘I didn’t come from a primary care background and because everything had slowed right down here at Davenport House, with anti-Covid precautions already in place, I was able to concentrate on learning the essentials of my new role whilst the building was quiet.’
But Lindsey is well aware that things can change in an instant. To the patients, she is the Surgery’s Practice Manager, dealing with any concerns or complaints, but she also has a key Operations role, making sure that everything is running smoothly behind the scenes and looking after the Human Resource side of the Practice.
Lindsey grew up in Potters Bar and studied Biology at Leeds University, originally planning to go into teaching. But a back injury in her third year put paid to teacher training or graduate placements, and once she had recovered sufficiently to start work, her focus had changed.
‘I worked for five years as Practice Manager for two firms of opticians, the last one in Welwyn Garden City, but independent Practices tend to be quite small and don’t offer much in the way of career progression,’ she says. ‘At the start of this year, I felt ready for a bigger role, and having already worked partly for the NHS, I really liked the idea of moving into the NHS full-time at Davenport House.
‘A big part of the challenge in the coming months will be seeing how a second wave of the Corona virus might impact on us. But for the time being, I’m enjoying getting to grips with the here and now, rather than thinking about what will be happening next year. At the moment, nobody knows, so plans are currently on hold for closer working between the three GP practices in Harpenden, but we will address this again when the pandemic dies down. We’ll also be upgrading our website, so hopefully we’ll be sharing some good news with patients before too long.
