Executive members manage the CCG’s day-to-day running, supported by healthcare professionals.

Chris Piercy
Executive director of nursing, patient safety and quality
Chris is the CCG’s Director of Nursing and works to assure the delivery of the highest levels of service quality, patient safety and value for money in all commissioned services whilst ensuring the patients / carers are central to all decision making and that their voice can be heard across the alliance.
Chris is also the CCG’s lead for Safeguarding Children and Adults and lead for Infection Prevention and Control. His role also fulfils the statutory requirement as Chief Nurse for the CCG.

Bill Cunliffe
Secondary care clinician
Bill’s role as Secondary Care Clinician brings a broader view, on health and care issue,s to underpin the work of the CCG with particular focus of patient care in the secondary care setting.
Bill worked as a consultant surgeon for Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust for 21 years and was also the Trust’s medical director from 2004 until 2010. His high level of understanding of how care is delivered in a secondary care setting enables him to give an independent strategic clinical view on all aspects of CCG business.
In his role he provides an understanding of how secondary care providers work within the health system and brings appropriate insight to discussions regarding service re-design, clinical pathways and system reform.

Joe Corrigan
Chief finance and operating officer
My role as Chief Finance Officer means that I am the governing body‘s professional expert on finance and am responsible for ensuring, through robust systems and processes, the regularity and propriety of expenditure is fully discharged.
This includes making the appropriate arrangements to support, monitor and report on the CCG‘s finances; overseeing robust audit and governance arrangements propriety in the use of CCG resources; advising the governing body on the effective, efficient and economic use of its allocation; deliver required financial targets and duties; and producing the financial statements for audit and publication.
My role as Chief Operating Officer involves ensuring operationally, all of the functions and resources (e.g. planning, performance, finance, etc.) in the CCGs support achievement of their strategies as detailed in their Integrated Service and Operation Plans delivered in commissioning decisions.

Mark Adams
Chief officer
My role as Chief Officer is to ensure that the CCG functions effectively, efficiently and economically with the aims of improving the safety and quality of services provided for patients, the health of the local population and the delivery of value for money.
I also ensure that the working arrangements of the CCG reflect good practice, as identified through organisations such as the National Audit Office and NHS England. This includes complying with duties in relation to the delivery of accounts, audit and the provision of information to NHS England.
Another part of my role is to ensure that the CCG conduct themselves in an environment that is well governed and that they make prudent decisions in an open and transparent way, through collaborative working with the public and partners in the health and social care system. By doing this, secure continuous improvements in service quality and outcomes.

Julia Young
Director of complex care and commissioning
Julia has over 30 years’ experience working in the NHS working in a variety of roles including surgery, research and senior management . Julia was a Nurse Consultant at The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust before moving to the Strategic Health Authority.
She was appointed as Leadership and Service Improvement Manager at the North of Tyne PCTs in 2007 and led on the health response to ‘swine flu’ as Director of Flu Resilience in 2009.
Julia has most recently been working as Director for Quality development for the Newcastle Gateshead CCG leading on Continuing Healthcare transformation, patient safety and a range of quality initiatives.

Dr Mark Dornan
Assistant clinical chair
Mark graduated in 1999 from Newcastle University and qualified as GP in 2004. Over the last 14 years he has worked as a GP in various roles including in elderly care.
Mark is a GP, a GP Partner and GP trainer in www.teamsmedicalpractice.nhs.uk in one of the most deprived areas in Gateshead.
Mark chairs the Regional Digital Care Program which was initially requested by the commissioners to feed into the STP.
In all these roles Mark is passionate to support our public and dedicated staff work together to improve our population’s health. Often this will depend on people working together to provide the best care for people, as if they were our family.

Jackie Cairns
Director for the Newcastle system
Jackie joined the NHS in 1984 as a nurse and has worked in a number of clinical areas including Coronary Care, Intensive Care and Primary Care. As a manager, Jackie has worked extensively within primary care and has had a breadth of experience in commissioning, clinical leadership and transformation across the North East region. Jackie is currently working as Director of Strategy & Integration.

Dr David Jones
Clinical chair
David graduated from Newcastle University and qualified as a GP in 1995. He has worked as a Partner at Throckley Primary Care, a practice in Newcastle, since 1999. He is also a GP trainer.
He is currently the Chair of the CCG, and in the past has been clinical director for Children Young People and Families. He is also the Named GP for Child Safeguarding in Newcastle.

Dr Dominic Slowie
Medical director
To follow

Lynn Wilson
Director for the Gateshead system
To follow